The greatest common factor (GCF) of two numbers is the largest number that divides both of them without leaving a remainder. In this case, the factors of 24 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24, while the factors of 18 are 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 18. The largest number that appears in both lists is 6, so the GCF of 24 and 18 is 6.