There are 16 green coffee mugs.
You have to work backwards in order to get your answer.
“6 less than” backwards means you should add 6.
6 + 42 = 48
“Three times as many” backwards means you divide by 3.
48/3 = 16
You can check your work by plugging it back into the original question.
16 green coffee mugs * 3 - 6 = 42 blue coffee mugs
