In the diagram, line segments meet at $90^{\circ}$ as shown. If the short line segments are each $3 \mathrm{~cm}$ long, what is the area of the shape?
(A) 30
(D) 45
(B) 36
(E) 54
(C) 40

![](https://cdn.mathpix.com/cropped/2024_04_20_6027bc27089ed4fc493cg-099.jpg?height=247&width=436&top_left_y=1064&top_left_x=1300)
In the diagram, line segments meet at $90^{\circ}$ as shown. If the short line segments are each $3 \mathrm{~cm}$ long, what is the area of the shape?
(A) 30
(D) 45
(B) 36
(C) 40

## Solution

Each of the four squares are identical and each has an area of $3 \times 3$ or $9 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$.

The total area is thus $4 \times 9$ or $36 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}$.
![](https://cdn.mathpix.com/cropped/2024_04_20_748fdafcde2a47412608g-448.jpg?height=624&width=548&top_left_y=279&top_left_x=1338)

ANSWER: (B)