What is the value of the expression $5^3 - 3 \times 5^2 + 3 \times 5 - 1$?
To evaluate this expression, I need to follow the order of operations: parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division, and addition and subtraction. There are no parentheses in the expression, so I can skip that step. Next, I need to simplify the terms that have exponents. $5^3$ means $5 \times 5 \times 5$, which is 125. $3 \times 5^2$ means $3 \times 5 \times 5$, which is 75. So the expression becomes $125 - 75 + 3 \times 5 - 1$. Next, I need to do the multiplication. $3 \times 5$ is 15. So the expression becomes $125 - 75 + 15 - 1$. Finally, I need to do the addition and subtraction from left to right. $125 - 75$ is 50. $50 + 15$ is 65. $65 - 1$ is 64. So the final value of the expression is 64. 