To find the surface area of a rectangular prism, we need to add up the areas of all six of its faces. The formula for the surface area of a rectangular prism is:
Surface Area = 2lw + 2lh + 2wh
where l, w, and h are the length, width, and height of the rectangular prism.
Substituting the given values, we get:
Surface Area = 2(8 in. x 8 in.) + 2(8 in. x 12 in.) + 2(8 in. x 12 in.)
Surface Area = 2(64 sq. in.) + 2(96 sq. in.) + 2(96 sq. in.)
Surface Area = 128 sq. in. + 192 sq. in. + 192 sq. in.
Surface Area = 512 sq. in.
Therefore, the surface area of the rectangular prism is 512 square inches.