
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
Simplify the expressions and then evaluate:

(1) $-3x^2 + 5x - 0.5x^2 + x - 1$, where $x = 2$;  
(2) $(a^2b + 3ab^2) - 3(a^2b + ab^2 - 1)$, where $a = -2$, $b = 2$.

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