The surface area of each block can be found by adding up the areas of all six faces. The area of each face is simply the product of its length and width.
The block has two faces that are 8 cm long and 5 cm high, so each of these faces has an area of 8 cm x 5 cm = 40 cm^2.
The block also has two faces that are 4 cm wide and 5 cm high, so each of these faces has an area of 4 cm x 5 cm = 20 cm^2.
Finally, the block has two faces that are 8 cm long and 4 cm wide, so each of these faces has an area of 8 cm x 4 cm = 32 cm^2.
Adding up the areas of all six faces, we get:
Surface area = 2(40 cm^2) + 2(20 cm^2) + 2(32 cm^2)
Surface area = 80 cm^2 + 40 cm^2 + 64 cm^2
Surface area = 184 cm^2
Therefore, the surface area of each block is 184 square centimeters.