Final answer:
The likely interpretation of tripling Tyler's marbles would be multiplying by 3; hence, starting with 3 marbles and tripling them would result in 9 marbles, which is answer D.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question is about a basic arithmetic problem where Tyler starts with 3 marbles, then his total number of marbles is tripled and subsequently raised to the 21st power. It seems there might be a misunderstanding in the wording of the question since the numbers provided as possible answers are not consistent with something being raised to the 21st power, which would result in a huge number. The likely correct interpretation of "powered by 21" should be "multiplied by 21," yet even this would not give an answer from the available options. Given the possible misinterpretation of the question, let's focus on the word "tripled" first. If Tyler initially has 3 marbles, and then he triples them, it means he multiplies the number of marbles by 3. Tripling 3 marbles gives Tyler 3 × 3 equals 9 marbles. Therefore, based on the given selections, the most probable answer to this riddle is that Tyler will end up with 9 marbles.