Answer:
To find the total surface area of the square pyramid, we need to find the area of each of its faces and add them up.
The pyramid has a square base with sides of 8 inches and each triangular face has an isosceles right triangle shape with two sides of 8 inches and a hypotenuse of 2 x 8 = 16 inches (using the Pythagorean theorem).
The total surface area is then:
Area of the square base: 8 x 8 = 64 square inches
Area of each triangular face: 1/2 x 8 x 8 = 32 square inches (since each triangle is isosceles with base and height of 8 inches)
Total surface area: 4 x 32 + 64 = 192 + 64 = 256 square inches
Therefore, the total surface area of the square pyramid is 256 in². So, the closest answer option is 256 in, 2.