Why Does X Represent the Unknown?

In short, we use "x" to represent the unknown because the scholars in 11th century couldn't translate the arabic letter "Shin", denoting unknowns, to Spanish. In Arabic, Shin (ش‎) is read as /ʃ/, like the sound sh in shoe, but there is no such sound in Spanish.

1. Why is X always used to represent the unknown?
2. Why is X mysterious?
3. What does X represent in a problem?
4. What does the X value represent?

Why is X always used to represent the unknown?

Similarly, in English, x represents the unknown, as in X-rays, which baffled their discoverer, and Malcolm X, who chose the symbol to represent the forgotten name of his African ancestors. This meaning of the letter x traces back to the Arabic word for "thing," or šay'.

Why is X mysterious?

The letter X stands for the unknown or the mysterious: Project X; the X-Men; the X-Files. When physicist Wilhelm Röntgen discovered a baffling new form of radiation in 1895, naturally he named them “X-Rays”.

What does X represent in a problem?

The letter "x" is often used in algebra to mean a value that is not yet known. It is called a "variable" or sometimes an "unknown". In x + 2 = 7, x is a variable, but we can work out its value if we try! A variable doesn't have to be "x", it could be "y", "w" or any letter, name or symbol.

What does the X value represent?

The x value of the point (x, y) is known as the abscissa. It represents the distance of the point from the origin or along the horizontal x-axis. The y value of the point (x, y) is known as the ordinate. It represents the vertical or perpendicular distance of the point from the origin or from the x-axis.