This question is really asking you to match a type of geographic phenomenon, elevation, a continuous surface, with the correct GIS data structure for representing it.
- Raster: Stores the study area as a grid of equal cells, each cell carrying one value. Elevation changes smoothly across the land, and a DEM is exactly this: a grid where every cell's value is the ground height at that spot. This is the correct choice.
- Vector: Represents features as points, lines and polygons with sharp, defined edges, such as a plot boundary or a road centerline. Terrain elevation has no such sharp edges, so vector is not suited to storing a DEM.
- Tabular: A plain table of numbers has no built-in spatial reference or arrangement, so by itself it cannot describe how elevation varies across space.
- Rating: This is a scoring or classification scheme, for example ranking sites as high, medium, or low suitability, not a spatial data model at all.
Since elevation is a continuous surface best captured cell by cell, the correct data type for a DEM is Raster, option (A).
Let's summarize:
- Continuous surfaces (elevation, temperature, rainfall) are stored as raster grids.
- Discrete objects with clear boundaries (roads, plots, buildings) are stored as vector features.
So a Digital Elevation Model uses the Raster data type.