Final answer:
Emily applied the distributive property of multiplication over addition.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first step Emily took in solving the equation 4(2 - 2) = 2 is applying the distributive property of multiplication over addition. This property states that multiplying a number by a sum is the same as multiplying the number by each term in the sum and then adding the products. In this case, Emily distributed the 4 to both terms in the parentheses, resulting in the equation 4(2) - 4(2) = 2.