find the greatest common factor is 16x^2 and 48x^3

show your steps

To find the greatest common factor (GCF) of 16x^2 and 48x^3, we need to find the highest possible power of x that divides both terms.

Step 1: Prime factorize the coefficients.
16 = 2^4
48 = 2^4 * 3

Step 2: Compare the powers of x in each term.
x^2 and x^3

Step 3: The GCF of 16x^2 and 48x^3 is the highest power of x that divides both terms, which is x^2.

Therefore, the GCF is 16x^2.