Explanation:
The surface area of a square pyramid can be found by adding the area of the base and the sum of the areas of each of its lateral faces.
The area of the base is 10 inches * 10 inches = 100 square inches.
The lateral faces are isosceles triangles with a base of 10 inches and a height of 10 inches, so the area of each lateral face is (1/2) * 10 inches * 10 inches = 50 square inches.
Since there are 4 lateral faces, the sum of their areas is 4 * 50 = 200 square inches.
Adding the area of the base to the sum of the areas of the lateral faces:
Surface area = 100 + 200 = 300 square inches.