Complete the series: $2,12,36,80,\dots$

Let's look at the differences between consecutive terms in the series:
* $12-2=10$
* $36-12=24$
* $80-36=44$

Now, let's find the differences of these differences (second layer of differences):

* $24-10=14$
* $44-24=20$

The difference between these second-layer differences is:

* $20-14=6$

Assuming the second-layer difference increases by $6$ each time, the next second-layer difference will be:

* $20+6=26$

Therefore, the next first-layer difference will be:

* $44+26=70$

The next term in the series will be:

* $80+70=150$

Alternative Method:
The terms can be represented as $n^3+n^2$ for $n=1,2,3,4,\dots$:

* For $n=1$: $1^3+1^2=1+1=2$
* For $n=2$: $2^3+2^2=8+4=12$
* For $n=3$: $3^3+3^2=27+9=36$
* For $n=4$: $4^3+4^2=64+16=80$
* For $n=5$: $5^3+5^2=125+25=150$

Both methods confirm that the next number is $150$.