An elementary school was polled to find out what the children's favorite foods were. When asked what their favorite foods were, 42 students said pizza 33 students said cheeseburgers, 12 students said hot dogs, 10 students said chicken nuggets, and the remaining 18 students filled in other various answers. What percentage of the students had pizza as their favorite food?

Explanation: Number of students who said pizza = 42. Total number of students = \(42 (\text{pizza}) + 33 (\text{cheeseburgers}) + 12 (\text{hot dogs}) + 10 (\text{chicken nuggets}) + 18 (\text{other})\). Total students = \(42 + 33 + 12 + 10 + 18 = 115\). Percentage of students who had pizza as their favorite food = \(\frac{\text{Number of students who chose pizza}}{\text{Total number of students}} \times 100\%\). Percentage = \(\frac{42}{115} \times 100\%\). \(\frac{42}{115} \approx 0.365217\). \(0.365217 \times 100\% \approx 36.5\%\).