Explain the importance of active transport in humans
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Explanation:
Active transport is important because it allows the cell to move substances against the concentration gradient.
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Answer:
Active transport is a physical process in which molecules and ions move from a region of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration. This means that they move against a concentration gradient unlike in diffusion which is an equally physical process, where molecules or ions move from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. A vivid example of the significance of active transport can be seen in seaweeds which take up iodine in such a vigorous manner that it is more than two million times as concentrated inside the cells as in the surrounding water environment. Therefore any movement against a concentration gradient is called active transport.
Active transport can also occur in biological systems that is actively producing energy by respiration. Physical conditions such as oxygen concentration and temperature influence the rate of active transport and there are further evidences from biochemical studies to show that active transport is linked with energy production .The involvement of active transport in energy production can also be explained by the fact that certain cells that are known to undertake active transport on a very large scale have an unusually large amount of mitochondria, which is the energy storehouse of the cell.
In further explaining the significance of active transport, we must also understand that Active Transport controls what goes in and out of the cell. Many animal and plant cells take in potassium ions but expel sodium ions. These two ions are being moved in opposite directions within one and the same cell membrane. In investigating the passage of some radioactive ions across the cell membrane of certain algal cells, it was discovered that the concentration of both potassium and sodium ions on the two sides of the membrane are interdependent, suggesting that the same carrier is used for transporting both ions.