AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The cellular process known as the sodium-potassium pump was discovered in the 1950s by Jens Christian Skou, a Danish scientist. This process is a form of active transport that moves three sodium ions to the outside of a cell for every two potassium ions that it moves into the cell.

Detailed explanation-2: -The sodium-potassium pump system moves sodium and potassium ions against large concentration gradients. It moves two potassium ions into the cell where potassium levels are high, and pumps three sodium ions out of the cell and into the extracellular fluid.

Detailed explanation-3: -The sodium-potassium pump carries out a form of active transport-that is, its pumping of ions against their gradients requires the addition of energy from an outside source.

Detailed explanation-4: -The sodium-potassium pump is an example of active transport because energy is required to move the sodium and potassium ions against the concentration gradient.

Detailed explanation-5: -[3][4] The Na+K+-ATPase pump helps to maintain osmotic equilibrium and membrane potential in cells. The sodium and potassium move against the concentration gradients. The Na+ K+-ATPase pump maintains the gradient of a higher concentration of sodium extracellularly and a higher level of potassium intracellularly.