Which number will come next in the following series?
5, 12, 31, 68, 129, ..........
This questions was previously asked in
SSC CPO 15th-March-2019-Shift-1
Explanation:
- Let's observe the pattern in the series: 5, 12, 31, 68, 129.
- The first term is 5.
- The second term is 12, which is 5 + 7.
- The third term is 31, which is 12 + 19.
- The fourth term is 68, which is 31 + 37.
- The fifth term is 129, which is 68 + 61.
- We notice the differences: 7, 19, 37, 61. These numbers seem to be consecutive prime numbers squared: \(7 = 2^2 + 3^2\), \(19 = 3^2 + 4^2\), \(37 = 5^2 + 6^2\), \(61 = 7^2 + 8^2\).
Now, let's predict the next difference using the pattern \(n^2 + (n+1)^2\).
- The next two squares are \(9^2 + 10^2 = 81 + 100 = 181\).
- Therefore, the next number is 129 + 101 = 220.
- Correct Option: 220
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