Why is it usually easier to find the solution to an exercise than it is to find the solution to a problem?

Question

Include examples in your answer...I really need this

Answer 1

An excercise is usually already set up, prepared to be evaluated.
Problems need to be put into this "ready to be evaluated" format before they can be solved. This takes time, thought, and enough confidence that your set up is correct to actually do the problem. After all, if you don't set the problem up correctly, odds are you are not going to get the correct answer even if your mathmatical execution is flawless.

An example of an excercise: An illegal immigrant is being processed for deportation. All the steps are set up to do the mechanics of this process. It just takes the time to do them in the order they need to be done.

An example of a problem. Illegal immigrants flooding the country. There are no absolute right and wrong things to do. Certainly they don't belong here, but there are very many cases where sending them back to their own country isn't the best thing to do. Before solving such a problem, a means of properly setting up the problem needs to be found before we start doing something.