The fraction 18/42 is equal to 42.86% when expressed as a percentage. This means that if you had 42 items and selected 18 of them, you'd have chosen about 43% of the total. It's a bit less than half, but more than a third of the whole amount.
In everyday situations, you might come across this fraction or percentage in various contexts. For example, if 18 out of 42 students in a class passed a test, the pass rate would be 42.86%. Or if a store sold 18 out of 42 available products, they would have sold about 43% of their inventory. Understanding these equivalents can help in quickly grasping proportions and making comparisons in daily life.