Now that you’ve created your hypotheses, it’s time to prove them. First, look at the sum of two rational numbers. Let’s say they are two rational numbers, x and y. Because they’re rational, they can be written as a ratio of integers. Let x = and y = , where a, b, c, and d are integers and b and d do not equal 0. The process for finding the sum x + y in terms of a, b, c, and d is shown. Statement Reason substitution Create common denominators. Simplify. Based on this sum and using the closure property of integers, what conclusion can you make about the sum of two rational numbers? Explain your answer.