<|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
Starting with the numbers [2, 3, 4, 8], can you construct an equation that sums up to 24? Use the basic arithmetic operations (+, -, *, /) on the provided numbers. Each number can only be used once. Present your work in <think> </think> tags, and upon finding your solution, return the final equation (and your reasoning) in <answer> </answer> tags.<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>assistant
Let me solve this step by step.
<think>