Answer:
a) The whole frustrating experience can be blamed on poor planning.
Explanation:
A participle is a special form of a verb that modifies a noun. Therefore, it functions as an adjective but not as a verb.
The word frustrating is a present participle of the verb 'frustrate'. It modifies the noun 'experience'.
B and C contain gerunds (studying and skateboarding), and D contains a noun (cunning).