
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Consider a $3 \times 3$ block of squares as the center area in an array of unit squares. The first ring around this center block contains unit squares that directly touch the block. If the pattern continues as before, how many unit squares are in the $10^{th}$ ring?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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