Okay, we are tasked with adding 7168 and 9729. Let's begin!

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 9 in column 1 and get 17.
We'll write down the last digit 7 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 2 in column 2 and get 9.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 1 & 7 in column 3 and get 8.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 7 & 9 in column 4 and get 16.
We'll write down the last digit 6 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 7168 + 9729 = 16897.

