
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
The diagram shows four equilateral triangles with sides of lengths 1, 2, 3, and 4. The area of the shaded region is equal to \( n \) times the area of the unshaded triangle with side length 1. What is the value of \( n \)?

A) 8  
B) 11  
C) 18  
D) 23  
E) 26

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