Question

When a nerve cell fires, a charge is transferred across the cell membrane to change the cell's potential from negative to positive. For a typical nerve cell, 9.0 pC of charge flows in a time of 0.47 ms.

What is the average current through the cell membrane?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The given data is as follows.

q = 9.0 pC =
`9 * 10^(-12) C` (as 1 pC =
`10^(-12) C`)

t = 0.47 ms =
`0.47 * 10^(-3) s` (as 1 ms =
`10^(-3) sec`)

As we know that relation between charge and current is as follows.

I =
`(q)/(t)`

Putting the given values into the above formula as follows.

I =
`(q)/(t)`

=
`(9 * 10^(-12) C)/(0.47 * 10^(-3) s)`

=
`19.14 * 10^(-9) A`

or, = 19.14 nA

Thus, we can conclude that the average current through the cell membrane is 19.14 nA.