A T-shape is made from two rectangles of card that do not overlap. A bar 12 centimetres wide and 3 centimetres tall lies across the top, and a stem 4 centimetres wide and 6 centimetres tall hangs below the middle of the bar. What is the area of the T-shape?

Explication

The bar covers 12 times 3 and the stem covers 4 times 6, and since the two pieces meet only along an edge their areas add to 36 plus 24. Using the 12 by 9 rectangle that just encloses the shape counts the empty space either side of the stem as though card were there.