Let's break this down. We're going to add 1542 and 5440 together.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 2 & 0 in column 1 and get 2.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 4 & 4 in column 2 and get 8.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 5 & 4 in column 3 and get 9.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 1 & 5 in column 4 and get 6.

So, 1542 + 5440 = 6982.

