Answer:
161 square inches.
Explanation:
The surface area of a pyramid is the sum of the areas of all of its faces. Since the base of the pyramid is a square with an edge length of 7 inches, the area of the base is 49 square inches (7 inches x 7 inches).
To find the surface area of the pyramid, you also need to find the area of the lateral faces of the pyramid. The lateral faces of a pyramid are the triangular faces that are not the base. The lateral faces of a pyramid are all congruent, meaning that they are all the same size and shape.
To find the area of a lateral face of the pyramid, you can use the formula for the area of a triangle: A = 1/2bh, where A is the area of the triangle, b is the base of the triangle, and h is the height of the triangle.
In this case, the base of the triangle is 7 inches (the edge length of the base of the pyramid) and the height of the triangle is 8 inches (the slant height of the pyramid). The area of each lateral face of the pyramid is therefore 1/2 x 7 inches x 8 inches = 28 square inches.
Since there are 4 lateral faces on the pyramid, the total area of the lateral faces is 4 x 28 square inches = 112 square inches.
To find the surface area of the pyramid, add the area of the base to the area of the lateral faces: 49 square inches + 112 square inches = 161 square inches. Therefore, the surface area of the pyramid is 161 square inches.