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List signup  Life Science: Session 7  Children’s Ideas About
Energy Flow in Communities  Below are common ideas children in
grades K-6 have about this topic, compiled from research on
children’s ideas about science (see the Session 7 Children’s
Ideas Bibliography). For each idea, consider why a child would
be likely to believe this and what evidence might refute it.  1.
Interdependencies among life forms have a predetermined purpose.
see possible response  In a community, food chains are a good
example of interdependencies among producers, consumers, and
decomposers. Scientists would argue that energy flow is a
consequence of these interdependencies rather than a
predetermined purpose. This is an example of teleological
thinking, where nature or natural processes are considered to
have a purpose or design. Children and adults ofte