Let's break this down. We're going to add 7138 and 8409 together.

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 3 & 0 in column 2 and get 4.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 1 & 4 in column 3 and get 5.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 7 & 8 in column 4 and get 15.
We'll write down the last digit 5 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 7138 + 8409 = 15547.

