The phrase 'the product of 12 and 8' refers to the result of multiplying these two numbers together. In mathematical terms, the product is found using the multiplication operator, which is often represented by the symbol '*'. Therefore, the equation can be expressed as '12 * 8 = _____', where the blank indicates that the student should calculate the result of the multiplication. The actual product of 12 and 8 is 96, so if the blank were to be filled in, it would read '12 * 8 = 96'.