HLTB22H3 The Biological Determinants of Health Key Overview 2026 Tips
University of Toronto
Note: This may not be a comprehensive list of terms from the course - you may want to add your own
terms to this list.
Humans in the World of Biology
Cells are the smallest unit of life.
The four main macromolecules are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
Metabolism refers to all chemical reactions that occur within the cells of living things.
Homeostasis is the relatively constant and self-correcting internal environment of a living
organism.
Shivering produces heat that warms your body. Sweat glands can cool you down once activated.
Adaptive traits are traits that help it survive and reproduce in its natural environment.
Natural selection: members of a population of reproducing organisms possessing beneficial
genetic traits will survive and reproduce better than members of the population that lack these
traits.
Vertebrates: animals with a nerve cord protected by a backbone.
Mammals: have hair and feed their young milk produced by mammary gland.
Bipedalism: a major type of locomotion, involving movement on two feet
The three domains of life are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.
A multicellular organism may consist of different tissues, groups of similar cells that perform
specific functions.
Organs may consist of different types of tissue that work together for a specific function.
Organ system: two or more organs working together to perform specific functions.
Stem cells are the body's raw materials — cells from which all other cells with specialized
functions are generated.
Metabolism refers to all of the chemical reactions that occur within the cells of living things
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories you burn as your body performs basic
(basal) life-sustaining function.
Homeostasis is the relatively constant and self-correcting internal environment of a living
organism.
Stimulus: a thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue
A population is individuals of the same species (individuals that can interbreed) living in a
distinct geographic area.
A community is all living species that can potentially interact in a particular geographic area.
An ecosystem includes all the living organisms in a community along with their physical
, environment.
The biosphere is that part of Earth where life is found. It encompasses all of Earth‘s living
organisms and their habitats.
Science is a systematic approach to answering those questions, a way of acquiring knowledge
through carefully documented investigation and experimentation—the scientific method.
The scientific method is a way of learning about the natural world by applying certain rules of
logic to the way information is gathered, and conclusions are drawn.
Observation: is the first step, so that you know how you want to go about your research.
A hypothesis is an educated guess to a question. It should be a clearly defined statement, not a
question. It should be possible to test a hypothesis and to prove it false.
, Prediction: is your specific belief about the scientific idea: If my hypothesis is true, then I predict
we will discover this.
Experiment: is the tool that you invent to answer the question.
Conclusion: is the answer that the experiment gives.
In a controlled experiment, the research subjects are randomly divided into two groups (control
and experimental group). They differ by one factor called the independent variable, whose
effect the experiment is designed to reveal.
Statistical significance is a measure of the possibility that the results were due to chance. A
probability of less than 5% that the results are due to chance is generally acceptable (p < 0.05).
Theory—a well-supported and wide-ranging explanation of some aspect of the physical universe.
Inductive reasoning: facts are accumulated through observation until the sheer weight of the
evidence allows some logical general statement to be made.
Deductive reasoning: begins with a general statement that leads logically to one or more
deductions, or conclusions. The process can usually be described as an ―if-then‖ series of
associations.
Clinical trials: studies on humans using clinical testing.
Placebo: an innocuous, nondrug substance made to look like the drug being tested. This placebo
drug is given to the control group.
Double-blind study: when neither the researchers nor the study participants know which people
are receiving treatment and which are receiving the placebo.
An informed consent document lists all the possible harmful effects of the drug or treatment and
must be signed before a person can take part in the study.
Information literacy involves the ability to recognize what you need to know, locate relevant
information, evaluate it, apply it to the problem at hand, and communicate it effectively.
Technology can be used as well to find information (information technology literacy).
University of Toronto
Note: This may not be a comprehensive list of terms from the course - you may want to add your own
terms to this list.
Humans in the World of Biology
Cells are the smallest unit of life.
The four main macromolecules are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
Metabolism refers to all chemical reactions that occur within the cells of living things.
Homeostasis is the relatively constant and self-correcting internal environment of a living
organism.
Shivering produces heat that warms your body. Sweat glands can cool you down once activated.
Adaptive traits are traits that help it survive and reproduce in its natural environment.
Natural selection: members of a population of reproducing organisms possessing beneficial
genetic traits will survive and reproduce better than members of the population that lack these
traits.
Vertebrates: animals with a nerve cord protected by a backbone.
Mammals: have hair and feed their young milk produced by mammary gland.
Bipedalism: a major type of locomotion, involving movement on two feet
The three domains of life are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.
A multicellular organism may consist of different tissues, groups of similar cells that perform
specific functions.
Organs may consist of different types of tissue that work together for a specific function.
Organ system: two or more organs working together to perform specific functions.
Stem cells are the body's raw materials — cells from which all other cells with specialized
functions are generated.
Metabolism refers to all of the chemical reactions that occur within the cells of living things
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories you burn as your body performs basic
(basal) life-sustaining function.
Homeostasis is the relatively constant and self-correcting internal environment of a living
organism.
Stimulus: a thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue
A population is individuals of the same species (individuals that can interbreed) living in a
distinct geographic area.
A community is all living species that can potentially interact in a particular geographic area.
An ecosystem includes all the living organisms in a community along with their physical
, environment.
The biosphere is that part of Earth where life is found. It encompasses all of Earth‘s living
organisms and their habitats.
Science is a systematic approach to answering those questions, a way of acquiring knowledge
through carefully documented investigation and experimentation—the scientific method.
The scientific method is a way of learning about the natural world by applying certain rules of
logic to the way information is gathered, and conclusions are drawn.
Observation: is the first step, so that you know how you want to go about your research.
A hypothesis is an educated guess to a question. It should be a clearly defined statement, not a
question. It should be possible to test a hypothesis and to prove it false.
, Prediction: is your specific belief about the scientific idea: If my hypothesis is true, then I predict
we will discover this.
Experiment: is the tool that you invent to answer the question.
Conclusion: is the answer that the experiment gives.
In a controlled experiment, the research subjects are randomly divided into two groups (control
and experimental group). They differ by one factor called the independent variable, whose
effect the experiment is designed to reveal.
Statistical significance is a measure of the possibility that the results were due to chance. A
probability of less than 5% that the results are due to chance is generally acceptable (p < 0.05).
Theory—a well-supported and wide-ranging explanation of some aspect of the physical universe.
Inductive reasoning: facts are accumulated through observation until the sheer weight of the
evidence allows some logical general statement to be made.
Deductive reasoning: begins with a general statement that leads logically to one or more
deductions, or conclusions. The process can usually be described as an ―if-then‖ series of
associations.
Clinical trials: studies on humans using clinical testing.
Placebo: an innocuous, nondrug substance made to look like the drug being tested. This placebo
drug is given to the control group.
Double-blind study: when neither the researchers nor the study participants know which people
are receiving treatment and which are receiving the placebo.
An informed consent document lists all the possible harmful effects of the drug or treatment and
must be signed before a person can take part in the study.
Information literacy involves the ability to recognize what you need to know, locate relevant
information, evaluate it, apply it to the problem at hand, and communicate it effectively.
Technology can be used as well to find information (information technology literacy).
