What is the greatest common factor of the following lists of numbers?
$42,70,98$

• A. $14$
• B. $2$
• C. $1470$
• D. $42$

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the terms given in the problem. Since the problem is about finding the GCF (Greatest Common Factor) of terms, list all the terms you need to analyze.
2. For each term, break it down into its prime factors for numbers and its variable factors with their exponents. For example, if a term is \$12x^3y$, write it as \(2^2 \times 3 \times x^3 \times y\).
3. Compare the prime factors and variable factors of all terms to find the common factors. The GCF will include the lowest powers of all common prime and variable factors.
4. Write the GCF by multiplying all the common factors together. For example, if the common factors are \$2\( and \)x^2\(, then the GCF is \)2x^2$.
5. Double-check your GCF by dividing each original term by the GCF to ensure the result is a whole number or a term with no fractional exponents.