Let's break this down. We're going to add 5480 and 6981 together.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 0 & 1 in column 1 and get 1.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 8 in column 2 and get 16.
We'll write down the last digit 6 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 4 & 9 in column 3 and get 14.
We'll write down the last digit 4 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 5 & 6 in column 4 and get 12.
We'll write down the last digit 2 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 5480 + 6981 = 12461.

