Prerequisites for classical mechanics by Susskind So I am an undergraduate in Electrical Engineering. We had a course on Physics in our freshman year which is equivalent to Classical Mechanics I as taught in MIT. I am interested in studying advanced classical mechanics (which includes Lagrangian formulation and other stuff) as equivalent to Classical Mechanics lecture by Susskind. I wanted to know are they any prerequisites which I should know about before taking this course. 
In general what are the prereqs for this course? 
 A: Formally, probably not that many. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics are about taking a good look at the foundations of classical mechanics, and reformulating them in ways which are cleaner and provide nice insights, but which are still strictly equivalent to Newtonian mechanics. As such, you have two main types of prerequisites:


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*On the mathematical side, you will likely need to fluent enough with the calculus of several real variables as well as comfortable with the associated geometrical manipulations. The only really new tool you will need is the calculus of variations; this is usually developed enough in analytical mechanics textbooks that you'll learn enough of it from there to keep you going, but it wouldn't hurt to have a read on it beforehand or parallel to the mechanics.

*On the physics side, it will be helpful to have a small but well-refined workhorse set of physical systems on whose Newtonian mechanics you've worked with thoroughly - think harmonic oscillator, pendulums in 2D and 3D, Keplerian motion, and so on. These serve a dual purpose: they let you test your newly-gained skills to see how it works out in practice and, in doing so, they let you see how and why the new formulations are better or cleaner (or not).
(Having said which, I'm not very familiar with Susskind's book.)
A: Advanced mechanics doesn't need much prerequisites surprisingly. Mathematically, you would need to know calculus 1 and 2 and a bit of calculus 3 (such as partial derivatives). Physics prerequisites include simple Newtonian mechanics such as the three laws of motion. You will also need to know about forces in general and about energy. 
I recommend readinq the book "Theoretical Minimum," which is written by Leonard Susskind and George Habrovsky. It covers all of classical mechanics in a simple, easy to understand, and fun book. It covers everything needed to learn classical mechanics, even the math. It reviews Newton's laws of motion, forces, energy, and more. It teaches you calculus and calculus 2 needed to understand the concepts. And, of course it teaches advanced classical mechanics such as Lagrangian mechanics and Hamiltonian mechanics. Here's a link to buy it on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Theoretical-Minimum-Start-Physics/dp/0465075681
A: I agree with other answers in that Susskind's book that parallels the lectures, "The Theoretical Minimum" is a good read.  However, there is a more complete book with more examples and even problems to solve that is specific to Lagrangians and Hamiltonians.  It is presented at a level that anyone with Calculus (multi-variable at least to the degree of partial derivatives) can read and understand.  This book is "A Student's Guide to Lagrangians and Hamiltonians" by Patrick Hamill.  Its Amazon URL is: http://www.amazon.com/Students-Guide-Lagrangians-Hamiltonians/dp/1107617529/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421109336&sr=8-1&keywords=a+students+guide+to+lagrangians+and+hamiltonians
And, at the Amazon site you can delve into the table of contents and I believe a portion of the first chapter.
From my own experience and that of others who have delved into this topic for the first time, especially early in the education process, is in understanding the Calculus of Variations used to derive the Euler-Lagrange equations.  On seeing it for the first time, it is a bit of a jump from ordinary calculus but after a couple of reads and scratching out the math on paper, I think it takes hold.  Thus, if you have trouble the first time seeing this, don't fret, others had trouble too the first time.
