The expression "3 × 5 × 17" represents a multiplication of three numbers: 3, 5, and 17. To find the product, you can multiply them in any order. First, multiplying 3 and 5 gives 15. Then, multiplying 15 by 17 results in 255. This calculation can be useful in various contexts, such as determining the total number of items when you have groups of different sizes. For example, if you have 3 boxes, each containing 5 rows of 17 items, the total number of items can be calculated using this multiplication.