A more thorough explanation:

An amendment is a formal change or addition to the United States Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and amendments are a way to update or clarify it. There are currently 27 amendments to the Constitution.

There are several ways to propose an amendment, as outlined in Article V of the Constitution. Once an amendment is proposed, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states to become part of the Constitution. This means that at least 38 states must approve the amendment.

For example, the 27th Amendment was proposed in 1789 but was not ratified by enough states until 1992. This amendment prohibits Congress from giving itself a pay raise during the current term.

However, there is no time limit for states to ratify an amendment. The Equal Rights Amendment, which would guarantee equal rights for women, was proposed in 1972 and has been ratified by 38 states. However, it has not become part of the Constitution because the deadline for ratification has passed.

Amendments are important because they can protect individual rights and change the way the government operates. The first ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, protect individual freedoms such as freedom of speech and religion.