Final answer:
The correct chronological order from oldest to youngest is banded iron, limestone, chert, red beds, and metamorphic rock with fine grains, as indicated by their formation processes and geological history.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main answer to the question of ordering the rock types from oldest to youngest is option C) Banded iron, limestone, chert, red beds, metamorphic rock with fine grains. This order is established based on the geological history and formation process of each rock type.Banded iron formations are the oldest, having appeared around 3.7 billion years ago, indicating the presence of photosynthetic organisms that produced oxygen, which then reacted with iron in the water, forming the iron-rich layers.Following the banded iron formations, limestone, which typically forms in marine environments rich in carbonates, represents a later time when complex life started to play a significant role in sediment deposition.Chert is also a sedimentary rock that can form at the same time as limestone. Subsequently, red beds, composed of sedimentary layers rich in ferric oxides, indicate a presence of oxygen in the atmosphere, thus forming after the first free oxygen began to accumulate.The youngest in the sequence are metamorphic rocks with fine grains—for example, phyllite or schist—which indicate tectonic activity and the metamorphosis of pre-existing rocks under conditions of increased heat and pressure.