Final answer:
False. Facilitated diffusion and simple diffusion can decrease the potential energy stored across a membrane. These processes do not require an input of energy, and they do not act to decrease the potential energy stored across a membrane.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that facilitated diffusion and simple diffusion can act to decrease the potential energy stored across a membrane is true. Both types of diffusion involve movement of molecules across a membrane without the input of energy. Facilitated diffusion uses specific membrane proteins, such as carrier proteins or channel proteins, to help molecules move down their concentration gradient. Simple diffusion occurs when small, uncharged molecules passively move through the phospholipid bilayer of the membrane.
Facilitated diffusion and simple diffusion are both passive processes that move substances across a membrane from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. These processes do not require an input of energy, and they do not act to decrease the potential energy stored across a membrane. Instead, they are driven by the concentration gradient of the substances being transported. Decreasing potential energy across a membrane typically involves active transport processes, which actively pump ions or molecules against their concentration gradient, requiring the expenditure of energy (usually in the form of ATP). In facilitated diffusion and simple diffusion, substances move down their concentration gradient, and no net energy input is required.