What does lowercase v represent in this formula?

a rain shadow is a dry region of land on the side that is protected against the prevailing winds of a mountain range. the prevailing winds are the winds that occur most of the time in a particular place of the earth

prevailing winds carry air toward the mountain range. as the air rises up over a mountain range, the air cools, water vapor condenses, and clouds form. on this side of the mountains, called the windward side, precipitation falls in the form of  rain  or snow. this dry air produces a  rain shadow.

a  solution  is always transparent, light passes through with no scattering from solute particles which are molecule in size. the  solution  is homogeneous and does not settle out. a colloid is intermediate between asolution  and a  suspension. while asuspension  will separate out a colloid will not.