What is the product of 12 and 3?

To find the product of two numbers, you multiply them together. In this case, you are asked to multiply 12 by 3.

When you calculate the multiplication:

12 × 3 = 36

This shows that the product of 12 and 3 is indeed 36. The multiplication follows the basic arithmetic rule where multiplying two whole numbers results in another whole number.

The reasoning behind the calculation is straightforward; multiplication can be thought of as repeated addition. That is, adding the number 12 a total of 3 times (12 + 12 + 12) also yields 36. Thus, the answer is correctly identified as 36, aligning with the multiplication operation performed.