The expression "3 × 7²" involves both multiplication and exponentiation. The "7²" means 7 multiplied by itself, which equals 49. Therefore, the expression can be simplified to "3 × 49." Next, we multiply 3 by 49. This gives us a final result of 147. Thus, "3 × 7²" equals 147, demonstrating how to combine basic arithmetic operations like multiplication and exponentiation to arrive at a solution.