Outline how neurons generate a resting potential

Neurons use a sodium potassium pump to maintain a resting potential in the body. Inside a cell normally, there are more sodium in the cell and fewer potassium outside the cell, and hence there is a negative potential within a cell, which amounts to around -70mV. In order to generate a resting potential, ATP is required to change the conformation of an inter-membrane protein, which allows 3 Sodium 2+ ions to be pumped out of the cell by active transport and 2 Potassium 1+ ions to be allowed into the cell by diffusion.