What does the letter a stand for in algebra?

Answer 1

The variable.

In algebra a can represent a number - any number, it does not have to have a value like 6 or 31¼ until you have worked one out.

You could say, what is a if 3a + 6 = 24? Mathematicians like that kind of problem but if you learn how to solve it, it is a powerful thing that you can use for different problems.

3a + 6 = 24 can also be written as 3a = 18, so a = 6 is the solution. It is also the solution to the question: what is the number that if you triple it and add 6, the answer is 24? by doing the algebra, you get the answer 6 quite quickly, but the good thing about algebra is that it gives a framework for solving much more difficult questions as well, that you can't do in your head.