Final answer:
The false statement about early Earth's environment is 'High oxygen levels.' Instead, the atmosphere contained low oxygen, was reducing, and featured volcanic activity and water presence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that is false regarding the environment of early Earth is a) High oxygen levels. Early Earth had a reducing atmosphere, which means it lacked free oxygen. The atmosphere is composed of gases such as methane, ammonia, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. The presence of water and volcanic activity were both characteristics of early Earth.
The statement describing the environment of early Earth that is false is 'High oxygen levels' (a). The early Earth's atmosphere was a reducing atmosphere with very low levels of oxygen. Oxygen only began to accumulate in the Earth's atmosphere after the evolution of photosynthetic organisms, an event that occurred billions of years after the planet formed. The early Earth indeed had a reducing atmosphere (b), was rich in volcanic activity (d), and had the presence of water (c). Hence, the existence of high oxygen levels would not have been characteristic of the early atmosphere.