
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
At a science museum, a display consists of a number of linked metallic rings each 1 cm thick, hanging on a sturdy rod. The top ring has an external diameter of 36 cm. Each subsequent ring down has an external diameter reducing by 2 cm from the one above it, and the smallest ring has an outside diameter of 4 cm. Calculate the vertical distance from the top of the topmost ring to the bottom of the lowest ring, considering the thickness of the rings.
A) 315 cm
B) 321 cm
C) 325 cm
D) 331 cm

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