
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
Sherry starts at the number 1.  Whenever she's at 1, she moves one step up (to 2).  Whenever she's at a number strictly between 1 and 10, she moves one step up or one step down, each with probability  $\frac{1}{2}$ .  When she reaches 10, she stops.  What is the expected number (average number) of steps that Sherry will take?

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