Experimental Verification of Snell’s Law Using Locally Available Optical Media at Ahmadu Bello University

Snell's law of refraction is a foundational principle of geometrical optics, yet its experimental verification in Nigerian undergraduate laboratories is frequently limited by the availability of standardized optical equipment and media. This study designs and implements a low-cost experimental setup to verify Snell's law using locally available transparent materials including glass blocks, water, glycerol, vegetable oil, and palm oil at the Physics Laboratory of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, North West Nigeria. A laser pointer was used as a monochromatic light source, and angles of incidence and refraction were measured using protractor boards placed on a cork surface. Measurements were taken at incidence angles ranging from 10 degrees to 70 degrees in 10-degree increments, with each measurement repeated five times to estimate experimental uncertainty. Refractive indices calculated from the sin(i)/sin(r) ratio were compared against established literature values. Results for standard glass yielded a refractive index of 1.497 plus or minus 0.012, consistent with published values of approximately 1.5. Palm oil yielded a refractive index of 1.466, slightly below literature values for refined samples, attributed to residual impurities in locally processed oil. The study demonstrates that accurate optical measurements can be achieved in Nigerian laboratories using inexpensive, locally sourced materials. The experimental protocol developed here is proposed as a standard practical guide for first-year physics students in Nigerian universities. Keywords: Snell's law, refraction, refractive index, optics experiment, Ahmadu Bello University