In: Physics
3. Within a cell membrane there is an electric field that is typically
about 9×10
6
N/C, directed from the outside of the cell toward the inside.
The membrane is almost completely permeable to negative chloride
(Cl
–
) ions, which have charge –1.6×10
-19
C and mass 5.8×10
-26
kg.
(a) If a chloride ion gets into the membrane on
one
side, it will experience
a force that causes it to cross the membrane – but if it starts on the other side, it
will
not
cross. Why, and from which side (inside or outside)
will
it cross the membrane?
(b) Find the electric force (magnitude and direction) on a chloride ion that gets inside the
membrane.
(c) If the ion starts at rest on the side of the membrane from which it crosses, and the
membrane is 8×10
-9
m thick,
how much time will it take the ion to cross to the other side?
(d) How does the force on a chloride ion compare with the force on a potassium ion (charge
+1.6×10
-19
C , mass 6.5×10
-26
kg) inside the membrane?