Okay, we are tasked with adding 6996 and 5948. Let's begin!

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 8 in column 1 and get 14.
We'll write down the last digit 4 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 4 in column 2 and get 14.
We'll write down the last digit 4 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 9 in column 3 and get 19.
We'll write down the last digit 9 and carry the 1 to the next column.

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

So, 6996 + 5948 = 12944.

