Determine the pattern and find the correct answer: Series : 5, 8, 12, 17, 23, …

Look at the differences between consecutive terms: 8−5 = 3, 12−8 = 4, 17−12 = 5, 23−17 = 6. Differences are increasing by 1 each time (3, 4, 5, 6…), so the next difference should be 7. Therefore next term = 23 + 7 = 30.