What should come in place of the question mark '?' in the following number series?
287, ?, 71, 35, 17, 8
The series follows the following pattern:
8
8 × 2 + 1 = 17
17 × 2 + 1 = 35
35 × 2 + 1 = 71
71 × 2 + 1 = 143
143 × 2 + 1 = 287
∴ The missing term in the series is 143.