Final answer:
Cells with higher ion concentration than their surroundings establish an electrochemical gradient through active transport mechanisms like sodium-potassium pumps, vital for transmitting electrical signals in nerve and muscle cells.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cells with a higher concentration of ions than the surrounding medium tend to create an electrochemical gradient across their cell membranes. Due to the difference in concentration of ions such as sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+), an electrical gradient is established where the interior of the cell becomes electrically negative compared to its surroundings. This occurs because of active transport mechanisms like the sodium-potassium pump, which uses ATP to move ions against their concentration gradient, maintaining higher levels of potassium inside the cell and lower levels of sodium inside than outside.
The electrochemical gradient is crucial for various cellular functions, especially in nerve and muscle cells, which rely on these gradients to transmit electrical signals. For example, when a cell's internal K+ concentration is high, it tends to move out of the cell, whereas Na+, being in high concentration outside, moves into the cell. The pump compensates for these leakages by pumping K+ into and Na+ out of the cell, maintaining the gradient and the negative charge inside the cell relative to the outside.