Final answer:
The Na⁺/K⁺ pump maintains a negative charge inside the cell by expelling more sodium ions than it imports potassium ions; thus, if it did not function, the interior of the cell would become more positive.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the Na⁺/K⁺ pump did not function, the interior of the cell would become more positive. The Na⁺/K⁺ pump is responsible for actively transporting three sodium ions out of the cell for every two potassium ions it transports in. To maintain the usual cell conditions, there are normally more sodium ions outside of the cell than inside, and more potassium ions inside than outside. This results in a net loss of positive charges from the cell's interior, making the interior more negative. The sodium-potassium pump thus contributes to the cell's resting membrane potential by creating a more negative charge inside compared to outside.
Since the pump moves three positively charged Na⁺ ions out and only two positively charged K⁺ ions in, there is a net extrusion of positive charge. Therefore, if the pump were not functioning, the cell would lose its capability to maintain this charge disparity and the interior would become more positive due to the higher concentration of positively charged ions remaining inside the cell