The greatest common factor (GCF) of 24 and 36 is 12. There are different methods to find the GCF of two numbers, including prime factorization, listing common factors, and long division. Here are the steps to find the GCF of 24 and 36 using prime factorization:

• Find the prime factorization of each number. The prime factorization of 24 is 2 x 2 x 2 x 3, and the prime factorization of 36 is 2 x 2 x 3 x 3.
• Identify the common prime factors of the two numbers. In this case, the common prime factors are 2, 2, and 3.
• Multiply the common prime factors to get the GCF. In this case, 2 x 2 x 3 = 12, so the GCF of 24 and 36 is 12.

Another method to find the GCF of 24 and 36 is to list the factors of each number and identify the greatest common factor. The factors of 24 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24, while the factors of 36 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 36. The greatest common factor of 24 and 36 is 12, which is the greatest factor that both numbers have in common.