
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
When $a=3$, what is the output of the following code snippet?

```
IF a < 10 THEN
    y = 2 * a
ELSE
    y = a * a
```
Options:  
A) 9  
B) 3  
C) 10  
D) 6

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