| Table I. Top 10 Concepts Ranked by AAPT Workshop Participants (N=44) | |
| Concept | Mean±SD |
| Electromagnetic spectrum | 1.20±0.46 |
| H-R diagram | 1.30±0.61 |
| Newton's law of gravitation | 1.32±0.47 |
| Distances | 1.35±0.53 |
| Spectra | 1.42±0.64 |
| Mass | 1.43±0.78 |
| Astronomical Unit | 1.45±0.73 |
| Wavelength | 1.47±0.65 |
| Atom | 1.49±0.88 |
| Newton's laws of motion | 1.50±0.71 |
| Scale is from 1 (highly essential) to 5 (not at all essential). SD=standard deviation of the mean. | |
| Table II. Bottom 10 Concepts Ranked by AAPT Workshop Participants (N=44) | |
| Concept | Mean±SD |
| Voids | 3.66±0.78 |
| Spiral tracers | 3.65±0.82 |
| Irregular galaxies | 3.60±1.01 |
| Rotation curves | 3.57±1.04 |
| Volcanism (planets) | 3.53±0.89 |
| Synchrotron radiation | 3.53±0.92 |
| Nebular model | 3.48±1.04 |
| Magnetosphere | 3.45±0.85 |
| GUTs | 3.45±1.15 |
| Quantum physics | 3.40±0.98 |
| Scale is from 1 (highly essential) to 5 (not at all essential). SD=standard deviation of the mean. | |
| Table III. Top 10 Essential Concepts Rated by the Astro 101 Expert Panel (N=18) for the UNM Conceptual Astronomy Project | |
| Concept | Mean±SD |
| Mass | 1.06±0.23 |
| H-R diagram | 1.11±0.31 |
| Red shift | 1.17±0.37 |
| Radiation | 1.22±0.42 |
| Stellar evolution | 1.22±0.22 |
| E&M spectrum | 1.28±0.65 |
| Distances | 1.28±0.56 |
| Atom | 1.28±0.73 |
| Main sequence | 1.28±0.56 |
| Terrestrial planets | 1.28±0.56 |
| Scale is from 1 (highly essential) to 5 (not at all essential). SD=standard deviation of the mean. | |
| Table IV. Bottom 10 Essential Concepts Rated by the Astro 101 Expert Panel (N=18) for the UNM Conceptual Astronomy Project | |
| Concept | Mean±SD |
| Antimatter | 4.00±0.74 |
| GUTs | 3.78±1.03 |
| Black dwarf | 3.67±0.94 |
| Quantum physics | 3.56±1.34 |
| Protogalaxies | 3.50±0.96 |
| Inflationary universe model | 3.50±0.96 |
| Intergalactic medium | 3.50±0.76 |
| Magnetosphere | 3.33±1.05 |
| Natural motion | 3.33±1.33 |
| Scale is from 1 (highly essential) to 5 (not at all essential). SD=standard deviation of the mean. | |
| Table V. Top 10 Concepts Based on Expert Panel Relatedness Ratings Sorted by Scope Score (number of times paired with any other concept) | |||
| Term | Mean | SD | Scope |
| Physics | 2.28 | 1.41 | 398 |
| Mass | 1.06 | 0.23 | 383 |
| Stellar evolution | 1.22 | 0.82 | 339 |
| Orbits | 1.44 | 0.60 | 319 |
| Temperature | 1.61 | 0.85 | 315 |
| Luminosity | 1.44 | 0.60 | 296 |
| Observations | 1.50 | 0.76 | 294 |
| Star model | 2.28 | 0.76 | 294 |
| Density | 1.61 | 0.76 | 283 |
| Law of gravitation (Newton) | 1.44 | 0.83 | 282 |