
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
Three circles with centers at $A$, $B$, and $C$ have radii of $3$, $4$, and $5$, respectively, and are tangent to the horizontal line $m$ at points just above their centers. Circle $B$ is externally tangent to both of the other two circles. If $B$ lies between $A$ and $C$, what is the area of triangle $ABC$?
A) 0  
B) 8  
C) 16  
D) 12

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