12 cm²
1) Since we have two squares, and the smallest one is located inside the greatest one, then we need to calculate the white square area and subtract from the gray one's area
2) This way:
[tex]\begin{gathered} A_{\text{gray}}=s^{2} \\ A_{\text{gray square }}=4^2=16cm^2 \\ A_{itesquare}=2^2=4\text{ cm²} \\ A_{\text{shaded}}=16\text{ -4 = 12cm²} \end{gathered}[/tex]
3) So the area of the shaded region is 12 cm²
