Vocabulary · Free lesson
TOEIC Reading: packs or individual items?
A workplace reading question may use a product description and an order together. This original TOEIC Listening and Reading practice focuses on the English unit labels that make the calculation possible.
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Per pack means for each pack. If each pack contains six markers and the order contains four packs, the total is twenty-four markers: 4 × 6. Four is the number of packs, not the number of markers.
Keep a unit beside every number.
Read “6 markers per pack” as six markers in one pack. Then read “Quantity: 4 packs” as four of those packs. Multiply to find individual markers. If the question asks how many packs, answer four instead. The same document can support different answers because the requested unit changes.
Read the labels together
6 markers per pack
4 packs
4 packs × 6 markers per pack = 24 markers
Adding 4 + 6 gives 10, but it mixes pack count and contents instead of counting the markers in four packs.
Read, label, calculate
Identify the order unit
4 packs
Convert to the requested unit
4 × 6 = 24 markers
Try it now
Choose the quantity and unit
Read all answers and explanations
Each pack has 6 markers. An order contains 4 packs. How many individual markers?
24 markersFour packs contain four groups of six: 24 markers. Four counts packs; ten incorrectly adds the two quantities.
The same order says “Quantity: 4 packs.” How many packs were ordered?
4 packsThe question asks for packs, so use the order quantity directly. Do not convert to markers.
Product: 5 folders per pack. Order: 3 packs. How many folders altogether?
15 foldersThree groups of five make fifteen folders. Eight adds rather than multiplies; three counts packs.
Put it into practice
Correct an order summary
Product: 8 labels per sheet. Order: 3 sheets. Keep the order unchanged and correct the total number of labels.
The order contains 11 labels.
See a model answer
The order contains 24 labels.
The arithmetic follows the meaning of per sheet, just as it follows per pack.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
What does per mean here?
It means for each. The noun after it tells you which unit receives that amount.
6 markers per pack = 6 markers in each pack
Does quantity always mean individual items?
No. Read the unit beside it. A quantity can count packs, sheets, boxes, or individual items.
Quantity: 4 packs
Take it into your day
Read the requested unit; packs and items are different answers.
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