Quick PHP/SQL question

Hey guys,
Just a quick question. I'm coding something in PHP, and want to look up a certain value in a database. Below is the query:

$lookuppass = mysql_query("select pass from auth where name = '$name'");

and, I want $lookuppass to be the value that is queried.. what is the code for this?

Thanks in advance.

 

Not sure if PHP uses something similar to ASP as far as SQL queries...do something like SELECT pass FROM auth WHERE $lookuppass = $name

You will also need to do some form validation for invalid passwords and other things.