if your talking about when its in an algebraic equation with a coefficient (Ex: 5n=10)
then you would have to find the value of "n"
when you use variables in an equation, they have different values
(Ex: 5n=10 "n"=2, 15/n=3 "n"=5)
and "n" can also be represented as "x" or "p" they are just variables that have a value that you need to find
Hope this helps!! :D