What medium would sound travel the fastest through?

Space-time metric ds2= -dt2+at2dx2+bt2dy2+ct2dz2 (a)how does the area of a rectangle with vertices at ( x=0, y=0, z=0 ), (1,0,0 ), ( 0,1,0 ) and (1,1,0 ) changes with time? (b) if a photon moving in the x direction starts from the origin at t=1, when does it reach x=l? (ds=0 for the trajectory of a photon.) (c) the proper time for a particle is defined by cd=ds. what is the proper time for a particle to move along the trajectory ( x(t)=t, y(t)=0, z(t)=0 ) from t=0 to 1 ? what is the condition on the parameter a so that the velocity of the particle never exceeds the speed of light ?

Assume that a person skiing high in the mountains at an altitude of h = 15100 ft takes in the same volume of air with each breath as she does while walking at sea level. determine the ratio of the mass of oxygen inhaled for each breath at this high altitude compared to that at sea level. assume that the air composition (i.e. % of air that is oxygen) is the same at sea level as it is at 15100 ft.

Amass m = 74 kg slides on a frictionless track that has a drop, followed by a loop-the-loop with radius r = 18.4 m and finally a flat straight section at the same height as the center of the loop (18.4 m off the ground). since the mass would not make it around the loop if released from the height of the top of the loop (do you know why? ) it must be released above the top of the loop-the-loop height. (assume the mass never leaves the smooth track at any point on its path.) 1. what is the minimum speed the block must have at the top of the loop to make it around the loop-the-loop without leaving the track? 2. what height above the ground must the mass begin to make it around the loop-the-loop? 3. if the mass has just enough speed to make it around the loop without leaving the track, what will its speed be at the bottom of the loop? 4. if the mass has just enough speed to make it around the loop without leaving the track, what is its speed at the final flat level (18.4 m off the ground)? 5. now a spring with spring constant k = 15600 n/m is used on the final flat surface to stop the mass. how far does the spring compress?