An 8-inch by 8-inch square is folded along a diagonal creating a triangular region. This resulting triangular region is then folded so that the right angle vertex just meets the midpoint of the hypotenuse. What is the area of the resulting trapezoidal figure in square inches?

[asy]
fill((0,0)--(10,0)--(10,10)--(0,10)--cycle,gray(.7));
draw((0,0)--(10,0)--(10,10)--(0,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
fill((20,0)--(20,10)--(30,10)--cycle,gray(0.7));
draw((20,0)--(20,10)--(30,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
draw((20,0)--(30,0)--(30,10),dashed);
fill((40,0)--(40,5)--(45,10)--(50,10)--cycle,gray(0.7));
draw((40,0)--(40,5)--(45,10)--(50,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
draw((40,5)--(45,5)--(45,10));
draw((40,5)--(40,10)--(45,10),dashed);
draw((40,0)--(50,0)--(50,10),dashed);
draw((12,5)--(18,5),Arrow);
draw((32,5)--(38,5),Arrow);

[/asy]
<|im_start|>system
You are a helpful assistant.<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>user
An 8-inch by 8-inch square is folded along a diagonal creating a triangular region. This resulting triangular region is then folded so that the right angle vertex just meets the midpoint of the hypotenuse. What is the area of the resulting trapezoidal figure in square inches?

[asy]
fill((0,0)--(10,0)--(10,10)--(0,10)--cycle,gray(.7));
draw((0,0)--(10,0)--(10,10)--(0,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
fill((20,0)--(20,10)--(30,10)--cycle,gray(0.7));
draw((20,0)--(20,10)--(30,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
draw((20,0)--(30,0)--(30,10),dashed);
fill((40,0)--(40,5)--(45,10)--(50,10)--cycle,gray(0.7));
draw((40,0)--(40,5)--(45,10)--(50,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
draw((40,5)--(45,5)--(45,10));
draw((40,5)--(40,10)--(45,10),dashed);
draw((40,0)--(50,0)--(50,10),dashed);
draw((12,5)--(18,5),Arrow);
draw((32,5)--(38,5),Arrow);

[/asy]
Please reason step by step, and put your final answer within \boxed{{}}.<|im_end|>
<|im_start|>assistant

user
24
An 8-inch by 8-inch square is folded along a diagonal creating a triangular region. This resulting triangular region is then folded so that the right angle vertex just meets the midpoint of the hypotenuse. What is the area of the resulting trapezoidal figure in square inches?

[asy]
fill((0,0)--(10,0)--(10,10)--(0,10)--cycle,gray(.7));
draw((0,0)--(10,0)--(10,10)--(0,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
fill((20,0)--(20,10)--(30,10)--cycle,gray(0.7));
draw((20,0)--(20,10)--(30,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
draw((20,0)--(30,0)--(30,10),dashed);
fill((40,0)--(40,5)--(45,10)--(50,10)--cycle,gray(0.7));
draw((40,0)--(40,5)--(45,10)--(50,10)--cycle,linewidth(1));
draw((40,5)--(45,5)--(45,10));
draw((40,5)--(40,10)--(45,10),dashed);
draw((40,0)--(50,0)--(50,10),dashed);
draw((12,5)--(18,5),Arrow);
draw((32,5)--(38,5),Arrow);

[/asy]
train