
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
How many ways are there to arrange $n$ crosses and 13 zeros in a row so that among any three consecutive symbols there is at least one zero, if

(a) $n = 27$

(b) $n = 26$?

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