The membrane surrounding a living cell consists of an inner and an outer wall th
ID: 1686543 • Letter: T
Question
The membrane surrounding a living cell consists of an inner and an outer wall that are separated by a small space. Assume that the membrane acts like a parallel plate capacitor in which the effective charge density on the inner and outer walls has a magnitude of 5.79 x 10-6 C/m2. (a) What is the magnitude of the electric field within the cell membrane? (b) Find the magnitude of the electric force that would be exerted on a potassium ion (K+; charge = +e) placed inside the membrane.Please include the picture, work, and answers.
Explanation / Answer
(a) E = ?/?0 = 7e-6/8.85e-12 = 7.91