Question

what is the greatest common factor of $4k$, $18k^4$, and 12?
2
$4k$
4
$2k$

Explanation:

Step1: Factor coefficients and variables

• $4k = 2^2 \times k$
• $18k^4 = 2 \times 3^2 \times k^4$
• $12 = 2^2 \times 3$

Step2: Find shared lowest factors

For coefficients: The common prime factor with the smallest exponent is $2^1=2$.
For variables: $12$ has no $k$ term, so no variable is shared across all three terms.

Step3: Combine shared factors

The greatest common factor is the product of shared factors, which is $2$.

Answer:

2