We can split the given figure in 2 right triangles:
So, in order to get the area of each triangle, we need to find the base, denoted by x in both of them. Since both are right triangles, we can to apply Pythagoresn theorem. By applying this theorem to right hand side triangle, we have
[tex]x^2+8^2=17^2[/tex]
so we have
[tex]\begin{gathered} x^2+64=289 \\ then \\ x^2=289-64 \\ x^2=225 \end{gathered}[/tex]
Then, x is given by
[tex]x=\sqrt{225}=15[/tex]
Then, the area of the left triangle is given by
[tex]A_1=\frac{base\times height}{2}=\frac{15\times36}{2}=270in^2[/tex]
Similarly, the area of the second triangle is given by
[tex]A_2=\frac{base\times height}{2}=\frac{15\times8}{2}=60in^2[/tex]
Then, the area of the entire figure is the sum of the area of the 2 triangles, that is,
[tex]A=A_1+A_2=270+60=330in^2[/tex]
Therefore, the answer is: 330 square inches
