What is the next number in the sequence: 2, 4, 8, 16?

The correct answer is 32 because the sequence given is a series of numbers where each number doubles the previous one. Starting with 2, if you multiply it by 2, you get 4. Multiplying 4 by 2 gives you 8. Continuing this pattern, when you multiply 8 by 2, the result is 16. Following the same logic, multiplying 16 by 2 results in 32, which is the next number in the sequence.

This doubling pattern is a common mathematical operation known as exponential growth, specifically increasing by a factor of 2. Each correct choice that diverges from this pattern, such as 30, 24, or 64, does not follow the established doubling rule of the sequence. Thus, the number that naturally follows in the progression is indeed 32.