Banded Iron Formations Are Interbedded Iron Oxides and Chert That

Banded Iron Formations are interbedded iron oxides and chert that formed on the sea floor between 3.5 and 2 billion years ago because _______.

A) iron and chert were abundant in the early Earth
B) iron was using the oxygen produced by bacteria and chert was a common ocean deposit
C) chert was being deposited by bacteria and iron was a common ocean deposit
D) outgassing produced both chert and iron oxide in roughly equal amounts
E) photosynthesis had not yet started to generate oxygen so iron and chert were deposited on the sea floor