
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
Five students, named A, B, C, D, and E, participated in a technical skills competition and were ranked from first to fifth place. The rankings were announced, and students A and B went to inquire about their scores. The person who answered told A, "Unfortunately, neither you nor B have won first place." To B, they said, "Of course, you are not the worst." Based on these responses, how many possible different rankings could there be for the five students? (Fill in the number)

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