Question

Cell membrane of an axon in a giant squid Measurement shows that the capacitance of a typical cell membrane is around 1 uF per square centimeter. This allows to calculate how many ions move across the membrane per unit area for a given change in the membrane potential. We shall use the giant axon of the squid to analyze how many ions move across the membrane for a 100 mV change in membrane potential. The diameter of a giant squid axon is 1 mm. Consider a thin 1 um-thick slice of this axon. . Calculate the surface area of the membrane within this slice.

Answer 1

To calculate the surface area of the membrane within the given slice of the giant squid axon, we use the formula for the area of a circle to find the surface area of the slice and then multiply it by the thickness of the slice to obtain the surface area of the membrane within the slice.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the surface area of the membrane within the given slice of the giant squid axon, we need to determine the area of the slice. The diameter of the axon is given as 1 mm, so the radius would be half of that, which is 0.5 mm or 500 um. The surface area of a slice can be calculated using the formula for the area of a circle, which is pi*r^2. Therefore, the surface area of the slice would be (pi * 500^2) um^2. The thickness of the slice is given as 1 um, so we can multiply the surface area by the thickness to get the surface area of the membrane within the slice. Therefore, the surface area of the membrane within the slice would be (pi * 500^2 * 1) um^3, or approximately 785,398 um^3.