Okay, we are tasked with adding 9972 and 8311. Let's begin!

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 2 & 1 in column 1 and get 3.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 7 & 1 in column 2 and get 8.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 3 in column 3 and get 12.
We'll write down the last digit 2 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 8 in column 4 and get 18.
We'll write down the last digit 8 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 9972 + 8311 = 18283.

