The voltage across a membrane forming a cell wall is 80.0 mV and the membrane is 8.80 nm thick. What is the electric field strength? (The value is surprisingly large, but correct. Membranes are discussed in Section 19.7* of the textbook.) You may assume a uniform E-field.

To find the electric field strength, we can use the equation:

E = V / d

Where:
E is the electric field strength,
V is the voltage across the membrane, and
d is the thickness of the membrane.

Substituting the given values:

E = 80.0 mV / 8.80 nm

Before we proceed with the calculation, we need to convert the units to match each other. Let's convert millivolts (mV) to volts (V) and nanometers (nm) to meters (m):

E = (80.0 × 10^-3 V) / (8.80 × 10^-9 m)

Now, let's perform the calculation:

E = 80.0 × 10^-3 V / 8.80 × 10^-9 m
E = 80.0 × 10^-3 / 8.80 × 10^-9
E = 9.09 × 10^6 V/m

The electric field strength across the membrane is 9.09 × 10^6 V/m.

To find the electric field strength, we can make use of the formula relating electric field, voltage, and distance:

Electric Field (E) = Voltage (V) / Distance (d)

Here, the given voltage across the membrane is 80.0 mV (millivolts) and the thickness of the membrane is 8.80 nm (nanometers).

However, we need to convert these units to the SI (International System of Units) units to maintain consistency.

1 mV = 1 × 10^-3 V (volt) [Converting millivolts to volts]
1 nm = 1 × 10^-9 m (meter) [Converting nanometers to meters]

Now, let's substitute the given values and solve for the electric field:

E = (80.0 mV * 1 × 10^-3 V) / (8.80 nm * 1 × 10^-9 m)

E = (80.0 × 10^-3) / (8.80 × 10^-9)

E ≈ 9.09 × 10^6 V/m

Thus, the electric field strength is approximately 9.09 × 10^6 V/m.