The given series is: 5,10,17,26,____
Finding the differences between consecutive terms:
10−5=5
17−10=7
26−17=9
The differences form the sequence: 5,7,9
The differences increase by 2 each time, forming an arithmetic progression.
The next difference in the pattern:
9+2=11
The missing number:
26+11=37
Therefore, the missing number is 37.