
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
Calculate the following expression: A maintenance team travels along an east-west highway to inspect power lines. It is defined that east is positive. The distances they traveled from point $A$ to when they finished work are recorded as follows (unit: kilometers): +7, -12, +15, -3.5, +5, +4, -7, -11.5.  
$(1)$ In which direction from point $A$ and how far away are they when they finish work?  
$(2)$ What is the total distance traveled by the car?  
$(3)$ If the car consumes 0.4 liters of fuel per kilometer, how much fuel is needed for the car to return to point $A$ from its current position?

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