What term describes a storage location with an associated name that contains a value?

The term that best describes a storage location with an associated name that contains a value is a variable. In programming, a variable serves as a symbolic name for a location in memory where data can be stored and later modified. When you declare a variable, you allocate a space in memory and link it to a name so that you can reference and manipulate the stored value throughout your code.

For instance, in a programming language like Python, you might create a variable called "age" and assign it a value of 25. Later on, you can change the value of "age" to a different number, illustrating the fundamental characteristic of variables: they can hold different values at different times during program execution.

Knowing this, the other terms do not fit this definition appropriately. A data structure is a more complex way of organizing data, which may include multiple variables or data items. A constant is similar to a variable but is immutable, meaning its value cannot change once set. A pointer is a variable that stores the memory address of another variable rather than holding a direct value itself.

Thus, a variable is the straightforward term that encapsulates the concept of a named storage location containing a value, making it the correct choice in this scenario.