Let's break this down. We're going to add 281 and 2587 together.

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

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 8 in column 2 and get 16.
We'll write down the last digit 6 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 2 & 5 in column 3 and get 8.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 0 & 2 in column 4 and get 2.

So, 281 + 2587 = 2868.

