What number comes next in the series: 2, 3, 5, 9, 17, ?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Each term is the previous term × 2 − 1: 2 × 2 − 1 = 3, 3 × 2 − 1 = 5, 5 × 2 − 1 = 9, 9 × 2 − 1 = 17. So the next term is 17 × 2 − 1 = 33.