In the rectangle shown, the area of the shaded region is
(A) $60 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$
(B) $20 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$
(C) $30 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$
(D) $40 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$
(E) $50 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$
![](https://cdn.mathpix.com/cropped/2024_04_20_46ead6524a8d61e21c51g-037.jpg?height=530&width=456&top_left_y=1079&top_left_x=1279)
The rectangle has area $5 \times 12=60 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$.

Each of the two congruent unshaded triangles has area $\frac{1}{2} \times 2 \times 5=5 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$.

The area of the shaded region is equal to the area of the rectangle minus the areas of the two unshaded triangles, which is $60-5-5=50 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$.