Answer:
258 square centimeters
Step-by-step explanation:
Consider the image attached below.
We can see that the length of each side of L shape is 40 cm and in 2 plates fit in between.
We need to find the are which is not covered by the plates. Let us calculate the area of L shape first.
We can see that it is a square with one fourth of its area missing. So the area of square with side length 40 cm is,
, where '
' is the area of square.
Now, one fourth of the area is not there in the L shape, so one-fourth of
is,

Therefore, the area of L shape drawer is,

Now, we can see that the diameter of each circular plate is, 20 cm. So the radius of circular plate is 10 cm. Let
be the area of each circular plate, so,

There are three plates so the total area is,


Hence, the area not covered by the plates is,
= 
So, the area not covered by three flat plates is 258 square centimeters.