Is an Orthonormal Set Necessarily Orthogonal?

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SUMMARY

An orthonormal set is necessarily orthogonal, as it satisfies the conditions of orthogonality along with having unit length vectors. In the discussion, the confusion arose from the distinction between orthonormal and orthogonal sets. The instructor emphasized the need to explicitly check orthogonality to ensure understanding, despite the inherent properties of orthonormal sets. Thus, any set defined as orthonormal must also be orthogonal.

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SeannyBoi71
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I know that an orthogonal set is not necessarily orthonormal, but here is my question: Is an orthonormal set necessarily orthogonal? I figured the answer would be yes, except on my last assignment I had a question that said blah blah if {u,v} is an orthonormal set blah blah. But my instructor gave me a hint that said make sure that u and -v are orthogonal. Are they not automatically orthogonal since they are orthonormal?
 
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SeannyBoi71 said:
I know that an orthogonal set is not necessarily orthonormal, but here is my question: Is an orthonormal set necessarily orthogonal?

Yes.

I figured the answer would be yes, except on my last assignment I had a question that said blah blah if {u,v} is an orthonormal set blah blah. But my instructor gave me a hint that said make sure that u and -v are orthogonal. Are they not automatically orthogonal since they are orthonormal?

You misunderstood your instructor. You claimed that {u,v} is orthonormal. This is the same thing as claiming that {u,v} is orthogonal and that \|u\|=\|v\|=1. Your instructor wante you to explicitely check orthogonality, because he wasn't convinced that you knew that it was orthogonal.
 

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