
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
Marina drove her car on a highway trip lasting a whole number of hours and at a constant speed of 60 miles per hour. At the start of her journey, the odometer displayed \( abc \) miles, where \( abc \) is a 3-digit number, \( a \geq 1 \), and \( a+b+c \leq 9 \). At the trip's end, the odometer showed \( bac \) miles. What is \( a^2 + b^2 + c^2 \)?
**A)** 24  
**B)** 31  
**C)** 35  
**D)** 37  
**E)** 41

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