# Variables 01:51 minutes

Video Transcript

## TranscriptVariables

Sarah is kicking Eric`s butt at a card game. The goal of the game is to make a straight with five cards.

Sarah draws another card. She got lucky, it's a wildcard. Let's have a look at her hand. Sarah has a good hand. She already has a two, three, four, and five. And with the wildcard she's the winner! The wildcard can represent the one card or it can also represent the six card. A wildcard can take on the value of any card in the deck.

### Variables in Algebra

In Algebra, there is a concept that is similar to the wildcard. Variables are letters or other symbols used to represent unknown numbers in algebraic equations and expressions.
We can say: A variable is a letter or symbol that represents a quantity that can vary. For example x, y or a or whatever you choose. A variable can represent an unknown number in an equation. In this example subtraction equation, the variable, x, is equal to two.

### Using Variables in Algebraic Expressions

Let's see how variables can be used in algebraic expressions.
Imagine you have a smartphone contract. The monthly charge for your cell phone is the fixed, monthly cost plus fifteen dollars per gigabyte of data. The variable x is equal to the number of gigabytes. You can write this as an algebraic expression: 25$+ 15$ · x. With this expression, you can calculate your monthly charge depending on what data plan you need.

Who is the mystery person with whom Sarah keeps texting?

1. honestly what even is this

Posted by Austin O., about 1 year ago
2. this video reminds me of a low-budget anime

Posted by Austin O., about 1 year ago
3. heheh Please, don't do that! We're always looking for new ways to explain math using stories. I hope you'll keep coming back to see what we've done...and hopefully, you'll learn something new!

Posted by Eugene L., over 2 years ago
4. This is a wonderful video! I almost wish I could forget what I learned to learn it again!

Posted by Plano Kellmeyer, over 2 years ago
5. Thank you for your kind comments! We're working hard to continue to bring you videos with easy-to-understand explanations...and fun stories!

Posted by Julia Feistel, over 2 years ago
1. Good video!

Posted by Kayladimas15, over 2 years ago
2. very good ending :)

Posted by Sage S., almost 3 years ago
3. Love this! Thank you!

Posted by Kim D., almost 3 years ago

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