Answer
A variable is a quantity or a characteristic that can assume various values at various times and circumstances.
(for details, please see step-by-step)
Work Step by Step
A variable is a quantity or a characteristic that can assume various values at various times and circumstances.
In mathematics, we usually name variables with letters, which serve as "placeholders" for actual values,
An example. The age at which people start swimming varies from person to person, Let's name this quantity A.
A is a symbol representing the variable: "age at which a person begins swimming".
For John, A=6,
for Mary, A=3,
for Jimmy, A=11...etc.
(for different people and circumstances, the variable assumes different values)
Mathematical expressions can be built using key words and variable names.
For example,
"... three years after a person first begins to swim..."
can be represented as
3+A.
Typical variables:
temperature during the day, at a certain place, at a certain date,
age at which mothers gave birth to their first child,
a number randomly chosen between 1 and 10,
etc.
