Final answer:
Graded potentials are temporary changes in the membrane voltage that are neither all nor nothing. They can result in small changes of depolarization or hyperpolarization in the voltage of a membrane.
Step-by-step explanation:
Graded potentials are temporary changes in the membrane voltage that are neither all nor nothing. These changes are usually associated with the dendrites of a neuron and depend on the size of the stimulus that causes them.
Graded potentials can result in small changes of either depolarization or hyperpolarization in the voltage of a membrane, and they can lead to the neuron reaching threshold if the changes add together.
The characteristics of graded potentials depend on the specific ion channels that are activated in the cell membrane.