How does the state of matter affect the speed of a sound wave traveling through it?

Sound travels faster through a solid or liquid than it does through a gas because the molecules are more tightly packed and allows the sound wave to travel quicker. sound is vibrations that travel through the air or other matter until it reaches someones ear which allows them to hear the sound. hope this helps

Is a  vector quantity  that refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position." imagine a person moving rapidly - one step forward and one step back - always returning to the original starting position. while this might result in a frenzy of activity, it would result in a zero velocity. because the person always returns to the original position, the motion would never result in a change in position. since velocity is defined as the rate at which the position changes, this motion results in zero velocity. if a person in motion wishes to maximize their velocity, then that person must make every effort to maximize the amount that they are displaced from their original position. every step must go into moving that person further from where he or she started. for certain, the person should never change directions and begin to return to the starting position.