CHEM480 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Amy Mullin CHEM480 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/23/2026	As someone who went into this class terrified about her teaching I can say she is easily one of the best professors I've had. Pchem is not meant to be an easy class and considering her research and years of experience "dumbing it down" would be difficult for anyone at her level. I will say the beginning of the semester was an adjust since calc isn't a prereq for the class but you need to be comfortable understanding derivatives and integrals. Overall, I found the class incredibly engaging and she is someone who is so obviously passionate and knowledgeable about the subject. We had weekly homeworks, quizzes on wednesdays, and 3 midterms before a final. She drops two of the homeworks and quizzes but the exams were fair considering how much worse it could've been. Lectures can be a little dense, but GO TO OFFICE HOURS I have spent many days there asking her to explain the simplest of things and she is willing to try different approaches so you can understand concepts better. Don't let the other reviews sway you too much chemistry is hard and this class definitely challenged me but she told us most everyone in the class would be getting A's/B's.
Amy Mullin CHEM480 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2025	As someone who went into this class terrified about her teaching I can say she is easily one of the best professors I've had. Pchem is not meant to be an easy class and considering her research and years of experience "dumbing it down" would be difficult for anyone at her level. I will say the beginning of the semester was an adjust since calc isn't a prereq for the class but you need to be comfortable understanding derivatives and integrals. Overall, I found the class incredibly engaging and she is someone who is so obviously passionate and knowledgeable about the subject. We had weekly homeworks, quizzes on wednesdays, and 3 midterms before a final. She drops two of the homeworks and quizzes but the exams were fair considering how much worse it could've been. Lectures can be a little dense, but GO TO OFFICE HOURS I have spent many days there asking her to explain the simplest of things and she is willing to try different approaches so you can understand concepts better. Don't let the other reviews sway you too much chemistry is hard and this class definitely challenged me but she told us most everyone in the class would be getting A's/B's.
Amy Mullin CHEM480 Anonymous 12/15/2025	I'll be honest, there is a crap ton of material in a short amount of time. I would say it is extremely difficult because of that and sort of the way she teaches. Her teaching style definitely is not for me, but the practice problems for each exam are helpful to understand the vibe of the exam. Quizzes are fair, and so are the homework. I took this class while taking 4 other major courses, so it was very difficult, but if there was more time (like taking pchem 1 and 2 two different semesters), it would've been extremely more doable. I only went to office hours a few times; THEY ARE HELPFUL! If you have a specific concern, she's able to walk you through it. Her teaching feels all over the place and sometimes useless, but she's just trying to make you understand the background rather than what you'll be tested on. She does understand we are undergrads and that we won't know absolutely everything being taught, but she still has high expectations. Overall, hard class, hard teacher, hard material, doable if separated and worked through more in class. (Even after doing bad in this class I really like PChem)
Elizabeth Griffith CHEM480 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/13/2025	I really enjoyed this course- it was a nice way to learn difficult topics at a lighter load. Professor Griffith designed the course to focus in on topics, at a more conceptual level. I learned a lot from this course, though was still tested, as the problem sets and exams for this class still require thorough understanding, but are overall very fair and very doable. If you're able to take this instead of CHEM481/482, I would definitely recommend.
Amy Mullin CHEM480 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/29/2025	CHEM480 is a tough class that crams a lot of material into a short time. I took it with Dr. Mullin, and she’s definitely an interesting professor. She teaches on the whiteboard and doesn’t record lectures. Instead of posting her own notes, she uploads student-submitted notes, which count for participation points. Her homework and exams are tough but fair, and she really does want you to learn. That said, she’s very blunt and won’t hesitate to call you out if she thinks your question is dumb—but don’t take it personally, that’s just her humor. Her office hours are also extremely helpful and she will sit down and walk you through different problems if you go to them. There’s a strong curve at the end, but she won’t tell you what it is. Grades feel a bit based on “vibes,” meaning if she thinks you’ve demonstrated enough knowledge for a certain grade, that’s what you’ll get. She mostly gives A’s and B’s. Overall, while Dr. Mullin wouldn't necessarily be my first choice for taking this class again, I don't think she's a bad professor and would not hesitate to take another one of her classes if I needed to in the future.

Amy Mullin
CHEM480

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/23/2026

As someone who went into this class terrified about her teaching I can say she is easily one of the best professors I've had. Pchem is not meant to be an easy class and considering her research and years of experience "dumbing it down" would be difficult for anyone at her level. I will say the beginning of the semester was an adjust since calc isn't a prereq for the class but you need to be comfortable understanding derivatives and integrals. Overall, I found the class incredibly engaging and she is someone who is so obviously passionate and knowledgeable about the subject. We had weekly homeworks, quizzes on wednesdays, and 3 midterms before a final. She drops two of the homeworks and quizzes but the exams were fair considering how much worse it could've been. Lectures can be a little dense, but GO TO OFFICE HOURS I have spent many days there asking her to explain the simplest of things and she is willing to try different approaches so you can understand concepts better. Don't let the other reviews sway you too much chemistry is hard and this class definitely challenged me but she told us most everyone in the class would be getting A's/B's.

Amy Mullin
CHEM480

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/19/2025

As someone who went into this class terrified about her teaching I can say she is easily one of the best professors I've had. Pchem is not meant to be an easy class and considering her research and years of experience "dumbing it down" would be difficult for anyone at her level. I will say the beginning of the semester was an adjust since calc isn't a prereq for the class but you need to be comfortable understanding derivatives and integrals. Overall, I found the class incredibly engaging and she is someone who is so obviously passionate and knowledgeable about the subject. We had weekly homeworks, quizzes on wednesdays, and 3 midterms before a final. She drops two of the homeworks and quizzes but the exams were fair considering how much worse it could've been. Lectures can be a little dense, but GO TO OFFICE HOURS I have spent many days there asking her to explain the simplest of things and she is willing to try different approaches so you can understand concepts better. Don't let the other reviews sway you too much chemistry is hard and this class definitely challenged me but she told us most everyone in the class would be getting A's/B's.

Amy Mullin
CHEM480

Anonymous
12/15/2025

I'll be honest, there is a crap ton of material in a short amount of time. I would say it is extremely difficult because of that and sort of the way she teaches. Her teaching style definitely is not for me, but the practice problems for each exam are helpful to understand the vibe of the exam. Quizzes are fair, and so are the homework. I took this class while taking 4 other major courses, so it was very difficult, but if there was more time (like taking pchem 1 and 2 two different semesters), it would've been extremely more doable. I only went to office hours a few times; THEY ARE HELPFUL! If you have a specific concern, she's able to walk you through it. Her teaching feels all over the place and sometimes useless, but she's just trying to make you understand the background rather than what you'll be tested on. She does understand we are undergrads and that we won't know absolutely everything being taught, but she still has high expectations. Overall, hard class, hard teacher, hard material, doable if separated and worked through more in class. (Even after doing bad in this class I really like PChem)

Elizabeth Griffith
CHEM480

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/13/2025

I really enjoyed this course- it was a nice way to learn difficult topics at a lighter load. Professor Griffith designed the course to focus in on topics, at a more conceptual level. I learned a lot from this course, though was still tested, as the problem sets and exams for this class still require thorough understanding, but are overall very fair and very doable. If you're able to take this instead of CHEM481/482, I would definitely recommend.

Amy Mullin
CHEM480

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/29/2025

CHEM480 is a tough class that crams a lot of material into a short time. I took it with Dr. Mullin, and she’s definitely an interesting professor. She teaches on the whiteboard and doesn’t record lectures. Instead of posting her own notes, she uploads student-submitted notes, which count for participation points. Her homework and exams are tough but fair, and she really does want you to learn. That said, she’s very blunt and won’t hesitate to call you out if she thinks your question is dumb—but don’t take it personally, that’s just her humor. Her office hours are also extremely helpful and she will sit down and walk you through different problems if you go to them. There’s a strong curve at the end, but she won’t tell you what it is. Grades feel a bit based on “vibes,” meaning if she thinks you’ve demonstrated enough knowledge for a certain grade, that’s what you’ll get. She mostly gives A’s and B’s. Overall, while Dr. Mullin wouldn't necessarily be my first choice for taking this class again, I don't think she's a bad professor and would not hesitate to take another one of her classes if I needed to in the future.

Reviews for CHEM480