You don't have to assume that the figure is drawn to scale, especially, never in DS questions.
Here the question is not whether r is 0, it is whether r is closest to 0.

Statement 1 (q = -s), the number line looks something like this:
<________-s_______r_____________s_______t______>

Basically, we know that 0 will lie right in the middle of s and -s. r will certainly be closer to 0 than s or -s since r is in between s and -s.
<________-s______r____0__________s_______t______>
or
<________-s__________0______r____s_______t______>

In either case, r is closer to 0 than s or -s.


Statement 2 (-t < q), the number line looks something like this:
<____-t____q_______r________s_______t______>

0 will lie right in the middle of t and -t
<____-t____q_______r__0______s_______t______>
<____-t____q_______r_______0_s_____________t______>

It is possible that r is closest to 0. It is also possible that s or q is closest to 0. So statement 2 doesn't tell us anything.

Answer (A)
_________________

E

Don't have time right now to explain and I only looked at this for about 10 seconds, but that's my choice for now.

A.
if q=-s then q and s have same distance to zero. Since r is between them, r is closer than them. It is closest. 1 is suff.

-t<q means that q is closer to zerp than t. But we can not infer any info. about r. Insuff.

1) q=-s implies that both are equidistance from zero.
so it suff. Ans "A"
2) not Suff

I agree answer should be A.

It is easy to create a counter example like the one you did
_________________

Thanks shrouded1. Another GMAT error, it seems.

OA is indeed A, and OA is not wrong, Please refer to page #311 of OG 12 for explanation of question #69, OA is given as A.

thirst4edu, you're right. I must have been looking at the wrong solution. My bad!

yup..it has to be A.

I have a question. When i read this question, I had assumed that "numbers" don't necessarily have to be integers. Or am I wrong? I think the answer would be A if the constraint is explicitly integers. The question is written in a confusing way...

Guys i have one concern (while saying that r is zero,near Left Hand Side to 0 or near Right Hand Side to zero) that do we need to assume that figure is drawn to scale.

or
whenever its not mentioned that figure is not drawn to scale we ill have to assume that figure is drawn to scale.

Pls clarify.

Thanks

@Karishma - Thanks for explaining with diagrams. Cheers.!
_________________

Of the four numbers represented on the number line above, is r closest to zero?

(1) q = –s --> -s and s are on opposite sides of zero and zero is halfway between them. We can have two cases:

<-------(-s)---(r)---0-------(s)-------(t)------->
<---------(-s)-------0---(r)---(s)-------(t)------->
As you can see in either case r is closest to zero. Sufficient.

(2) –t < q --> -t and t are on opposite sides of zero and zero is halfway between them. We can have two cases:

<-------(-t)-------(q)------(r)-0-------(s)-------(t)------->
<-------(-t)-------(q)-(r)------0-(s)-------------(t)------->
As you can see in either r or s is closest to zero. Not sufficient.

Answer: A.

OPEN DISCUSSION OF THIS QUESTION IS HERE: of-the-four-numbers-represented-on-the-number-line-above-is-128398.html
_________________