An important concept in mathematics, yet one that is often elusive for students, is the concept of rate. For many real-life situations--those involving work, distance and speed, interest, and density--reasoning by using rate can be an efficient strategy for problem solving. Students struggle with the concept of rate, despite the many possible applications. This article presents an alternative approach to rate problems and shows some connections between these problems and concepts taught in higher-level mathematics. An approach that makes use of functions provides students with a more robust understanding of mathematics, particularly because this approach facilitates multiple solution paths to the same problem. (Contains 10 figures.)