
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
In a triangular grid shaped as below, how many paths can spell out the word "MATH" by moving horizontally or vertically between adjacent letters?

$\begin{tabular}{ccccccc}
& & & M & & & \\
& & A & T & A & & \\
& H & T & H & T & H & \\
M & A & T & H & A & T & M \\
\end{tabular}$

Each path can start from any "M" at the boundary and must end at the central "H", forming the word "MATH".
A) 16
B) 24
C) 32
D) 40
E) None of these

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