
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
In the diagram, the center of the top square is directly above the common edge of the lower two squares. Each square has sides of length 1 cm. What is the area of the shaded region?
A) \(\frac{3}{4} \mathrm{~cm}^{2}\)  
B) \(\frac{7}{8} \mathrm{~cm}^{2}\)  
C) \(1 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}\)  
D) \(1 \frac{1}{4} \mathrm{~cm}^{2}\)  
E) \(1 \frac{1}{2} \mathrm{~cm}^{2}\)

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user