No problem, let's work through this together. We're starting with 972 and 9024 and adding them all up.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 2 & 4 in column 1 and get 6.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 7 & 2 in column 2 and get 9.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 0 in column 3 and get 9.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 0 & 9 in column 4 and get 9.

So, 972 + 9024 = 9996.

