Find the next term in the following number series:2, 5, 10, 17, 26, ?
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Find the next term in the following number series:2, 5, 10, 17, 26, ?
37
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The series follows the pattern n^2 + 1: 1^2+1=2, 2^2+1=5, 3^2+1=10, 4^2+1=17, 5^2+1=26. The next term is 6^2+1 = 37.
The differences between the consecutive terms are increasing odd numbers. Subtracting 5 from 2 gives 3, subtracting 10 from 5 gives 5, subtracting 17 from 10 gives 7, and subtracting 26 from 17 gives 9. To find the next term, add the next odd number, which is 11, to 26 to get 37. The result is 37.