Find the greatest common factor of the terms of the polynomial. \[ 18 u^{4}-17 u+8 \]

1. Write the polynomial: \[ 18u^4 - 17u + 8 \] 2. Identify the coefficients of each term: \[ 18, \quad -17, \quad 8 \] 3. Find the greatest common divisor (GCD) of the coefficients. The GCD of \(18\), \(17\) (which is prime), and \(8\) is 1 because \(17\) does not share any factors with \(18\) or \(8\) other than 1. 4. Check for any common variable factors. The terms have the variables: \(u^4\), \(u\), and no variable in \(8\). Since not all terms contain the variable \(u\), there is no common variable factor. 5. Conclude that the greatest common factor (GCF) of the terms of the polynomial is: \[ 1 \]