uncovering misconceptions about RMP - Uncovering misconceptions about the resting membrane potential Dee U Silverthorn Adv Physiol Educ 26:69-71 2002

26:69-71, 2002. Adv Physiol Educ Dee U. Silverthorn membrane potential Uncovering misconceptions about the resting You might find this additional information useful... on the following topics: http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/artbytopic.dtl can be found at Medline items on this article's topics Communications .. Reasoning Biophysics .. Action Potential Biochemistry .. Membrane Potential Chemistry .. Equilibrium Potential Chemistry .. Anions Chemistry .. Cations including high-resolution figures, can be found at: Updated information and services http://ajpadvan.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/26/2/69 can be found at: Advances in Physiology Education about Additional material and information http://www.the-aps.org/publications/advan This information is current as of December 9, 2005 . http://www.the-aps.org/. Physiological Society. ISSN: 1043-4046, ESSN: 1522-1229. Visit our website at by the American Physiological Society, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda MD 20814-3991. Copyright © 2005 by the American and in the broader context of general biology education. It is published four times a year in March, June, September and December is dedicated to the improvement of teaching and learning physiology, both in specialized courses Advances in Physiology Education on December 9, 2005 ajpadvan.physiology.org Downloaded from

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UNCOVERING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE RESTING MEMBRANE POTENTIAL Dee U. Silverthorn Neurobiology Section, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712 ADV PHYSIOL EDUC 26: 69–71, 2002; 10.1152/advan.00012.2002. Resting membrane potential is one of the most diffi- cult physiological concepts that students must mas- ter. Although the upper-division undergraduates in my physiology course have completed a semester of neurophysiology in which they worked problems us- ing the Nernst and Goldman equations, they often fail to retain conceptual understanding of the underlying phenomena. I developed the following question to show them (and myself) what they don’t understand. If the ECF K concentration increases from 3 to 5 mM, what happens to the resting membrane poten- tial of an adipose cell? (Circle all that are correct) a) it decreases b) it increases c) it doesn’t change d) it becomes more negative e) it becomes less negative f) it depolarizes g) it hyperpolarizes h) it repolarizes i) it fires an action potential