Let's solve this addition problem. We have 9724 and 8261, and we need to add them together.

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

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 2 & 6 in column 2 and get 8.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 7 & 2 in column 3 and get 9.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 8 in column 4 and get 17.
We'll write down the last digit 7 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 9724 + 8261 = 17985.

