<|im_start|>system
You are a helpful assistant. You first thinks about the reasoning process in the mind and then provides the user with the answer.<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>user
Using the numbers [12, 45, 18, 3], create an equation that equals 78. You can use basic arithmetic operations (+, -, *, /) and each number can only be used once. Remember, your task is to show your work in <think> </think> tags, clearly indicating the sequence of operations used to get to the target number. My final equation should be in the answer format, for example <answer> (number + number) * number - number = your_target </answer>.<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>assistant
Let me solve this step by step.
<think>