What term describes the rate at which an object changes its position?

The term that describes the rate at which an object changes its position is velocity. Velocity is a vector quantity, which means it includes both the speed of the object and the direction in which it is moving. For example, if a car is traveling north at 60 miles per hour, its velocity would be described as 60 miles per hour north.

While speed is also related to the rate of change of position, it only refers to how fast an object is moving regardless of direction, which is why it is considered a scalar quantity. Acceleration, on the other hand, refers to how quickly the velocity of an object is changing with time, rather than the actual rate of position change. Displacement represents the overall change in position from the starting point to the ending point and is a vector as well, but does not describe the rate of change in position over time. Therefore, velocity accurately captures the relationship between movement, speed, and direction.