Q is found in position number 17 of the alphabet. In english, Q is almost exclusively used to represent the /k/ sound whenever it is immediately followed by a /w/ sound. Examples of this is in the words 'quick', 'quad', 'quintessential'.
The letter Q is based on the hieroglyph cord of wool and is based on the Greek letter Quppa. It almost has a K sound and that has replaced Q in some words throughout the adaption to the English language. There were a number of changes in the Ancient Greek letter too, which led to the letter Phi.
Q has also been replaced by some other letters throughout time, including Gs and Cs. For example, Ego was once written as Eqo. The only reason Q stayed was because it created a W sound.
When the Q is written in the English language, it is almost always followed by the letter U. This helps to create the W sound, which would have been written as Kw otherwise. Of course, there are times when the Qu has a K sound, such as in the word plaque.
There are two looks for the letter Q – one for the upper case and one for the lower case letter. The Uppercase is an O with a short diagonal line at the bottom right. The lower case is like an upside down lower case D or a reversed lower case P. However, the lower case Q can sometimes have a flick towards the right at the bottom, to prevent it from being confused with a G.
The Q is not a letter that is used in number plates or vehicle identification numbers. This is because it can be mistaken for a zero on many occasions. There are also times when the Q represents a vehicle that has been imported – this is common with the older British number plate system.
In Scrabble, the Q is as scarce as it is valuable. There is only one Q tile, and it is worth 10 points. It is considered very lucky to come across it, and it is often harbored in the players rack until an opportunity to place it on either a letter bonus position, or even better a word bonus position. However, you may need to wait to get the perfect word. You may also find that you just have to play the tile if you are getting to the end of the game. The last thing you want is to find that you are left with this high scoring tile at the end.