To find the greatest common factor (GCF) of the expression \(9w - 24\), we first need to factor each term.
- The term \(9w\) is made up of \(9\) and \(w\).
- The term \(-24\) can be factored into \( -1 \times 2^3 \times 3\).
Now we can find the GCF of the coefficients of the two terms, which are \(9\) and \(-24\).
- The factors of \(9\) are: \(1, 3, 9\)
- The factors of \(-24\) are: \(1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24\)
The common factors of \(9\) and \(-24\) are: \(1\) and \(3\).
The greatest of these common factors is \(3\).
Thus, the GCF of \(9w - 24\) is \(3\).
The answer is A. 3.