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Il y a un truc dans mon sac.

Il y a un truc dans mon sac.
There is something in my bag.
From Lesson 102:Indefinite pronouns (quelqu'un, quelque chose)·French

Questions & Answers about Il y a un truc dans mon sac.

The translation says 'something', but I don't see quelque chose in the sentence. Why?
In everyday spoken French, un truc is a very common, casual word for 'a thing' or 'something'. You could definitely say Il y a quelque chose dans mon sac, which is exactly what the lesson teaches! But using un truc is a very natural alternative you will hear native speakers use all the time.
Is un truc too informal to use at work or in writing?
Yes, un truc is quite casual. It is perfect for chatting with friends, but in a formal email or a professional setting, you should stick to the lesson's standard word, quelque chose (something), or use the regular noun une chose (a thing).
I always forget, why do we use mon for 'my' here instead of ma?
In French, the word for 'my' changes to match the gender of the item you own, not your own gender. Since sac (bag) is a masculine noun, you must use the masculine mon, even if you are a woman.
Could I say Il est un truc instead of Il y a un truc?
No, to state that something simply exists in a location ('there is' or 'there are'), you always use the fixed expression il y a. Il est means 'he is' or 'it is', so saying Il est un truc would sound like 'He is a thing'.

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