A {it sign pattern matrix} is a matrix whose entries are from the set ${+,-, 0}$. The minimum rank of a sign pattern matrix $A$ is the minimum of the ranks of the real matrices whose entries have signs equal to the corresponding entries of $A$. It is shown in this paper that for any $m times n$ sign pattern $A$ with minimum rank $n-2$, rational realization of the minimum rank is possible. This is done using a new approach involving sign vectors and duality. It is shown that for each integer $ngeq 9$, there exists a nonnegative integer $m$ such that there exists an $ntimes m$ sign pattern matrix with minimum rank $n-3$ for which rational realization is not possible. A characterization of $mtimes n$ sign patterns $A$ with minimum rank $n-1$ is given (which solves an open problem in Brualdi et al. cite{Bru10}), along with a more general description of sign patterns with minimum rank $r$, in terms of sign vectors of certain subspaces. A number of results on the maximum and minimum numbers of sign vectors of $k$-dimensional subspaces of $mathbb R^n$ are obtained. In particular, it is shown that the maximum number of sign vectors of $2$-dimensional subspaces of $mathbb R^n$ is $4n+1$. Several related open problems are stated along the way.
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