To find Pete's down payment on the laptop, 30% of the total price of $699 is calculated, resulting in a down payment of $209.70.
The student's question concerns calculating the down payment when buying an item. In this case, Pete is buying a Dell laptop priced at $699 and makes a 30% down payment. To calculate the down payment, we need to find 30% of $699. This is done by multiplying the price of the laptop by the percentage in decimal form (30% is 0.30 in decimal form).
The calculation will be: $699 × 0.30 = $209.70. Therefore, Pete's down payment is $209.70.