The fraction 12/42 is equal to 28.57% when converted to a percentage. This means that if you had 42 items and selected 12 of them, you'd have chosen about 28.57% of the total. It's a fairly small percentage, just over a quarter of the whole.
In everyday situations, you might encounter this fraction or percentage in various contexts. For example, if 12 out of 42 students in a class wore glasses, you could say that 28.57% of the class wears glasses. Or if a sale offers 12/42 off the original price, you'd be getting a discount of about 28.57%. Understanding these equivalences can be helpful in quickly estimating proportions or discounts in daily life.