The shaded figure in the diagram above consists of five squares. it touches the circle at points m, n, p, and q. the radius of the circle is 15 centimeters. what is the area of the shaded portion of the figure?

The radius of the circle is 15, so its diameter is 30
that means the distance between P and M, and N and Q, is 30
because those distances are split up into three equal parts by the squares, each square has a length of 10
area of square = side^2
A = 10^2
A = 100
five squares:
100 * 5
500
the shaded area occupies 500 square centimeters