
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
Given the first term of the sequence $\{a_n\}$ is 3, and $\{b_n\}$ is an arithmetic sequence with $b_n = a_{n+1} - a_n$ ($n \in \mathbb{N}^*$), and $b_3 = -2$ and $b_{10} = 12$, find $a_8$.

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