
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
A motorboat departed from point A upstream, and simultaneously, a raft set off from point B, downstream. After 'a' hours, they met and continued moving without stopping. Upon reaching point B, the boat turned back and caught up with the raft at point A. The boat's own speed remained constant throughout the journey. How much time were the raft and the boat in motion?

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