Help with BIO question

[SWCT-FTW]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Here's the problem:

The sodium potassium pump is an ATPase that pumps 3 Na+ out of the cell and 2 K+ into the cell for each ATP hydrolyzed. Cells can use the pump to help maintain cell volume. Which of the following would most likely happen to the rate of ATP consumption immediately after a cell is moved to a hypotonic environment?

A. It would increase.

B. It would decrease.

C. It would increase and then decrease.

D. It would decrease and then increase.

E. It would remain the same.

My thinking it is that it's A. The cell is placed in an environment of lower solute concentration, so it's going to increase ATP consumption to pump net ions out to equalize the concentration between it and the environment. I basically just want to make sure it's not C. (But I'm thinking that since the question says immediately after it's just increase.)

 

[FeralisExtremum]

Your reasoning is solid. I would agree with answer choice A, and "immediately after" removes any of the ambiguity that could be used to justify C.

 

[deleted738762]

Your reasoning is solid. I would agree with answer choice A, and "immediately after" removes any of the ambiguity that could be used to justify C.

I concur

 

[SWCT-FTW]

Thanks guys - I really appreciate it! (Y'all are both rockstars for being so helpful on the forums.)

 

[SWCT-FTW]

Hey guys - I'm starting to second guess this. The question is basically saying that active transport is happening (it's using a pump that requires ATP) and active transport involves pumping ions AGAINST a gradient, and this would be down the gradient. Thoughts?

 

[SWCT-FTW]

Figured it out. Our initial intuition on A seems to be correct. For anyone else who is having an issue with a problem like this, here is a helpful article I found: The Na/K pump, Cl ion, and osmotic stabilization of cells