Okay, we are tasked with adding 1609 and 5048. Let's begin!

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

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 0 & 4 in column 2 and get 5.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 0 in column 3 and get 6.

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

So, 1609 + 5048 = 6657.

