1. Calculate the monthly interest rate:
\text{Monthly Interest Rate} = \frac{12\%}{12} = 1\% = 0.01
2. Calculate the interest portion of the first payment:
\text{Interest Portion} = \text{Principal} \times \text{Monthly Interest Rate}
\text{Interest Portion} = 60000 \times 0.01 = 600
3. Subtract the interest portion from the total monthly payment to find the part that goes toward the principal:
\text{Principal Payment} = \text{Total Monthly Payment} - \text{Interest Portion}
\text{Principal Payment} = 631.80 - 600 = 31.80
4. Double-check the values for accuracy:
600.00 + 31.80 = 631.80
Answer:
31.80