[Math] Vertices required to construct a graph with at least $500$ edges

graph theory

On our practice exam, our teacher gave us this problem and this solution:

What is the fewest number of vertices required to construct a complete
graph with at least $500$ edges? (Show your work but do not attempt to
simplify your answer too much!)

Answer: We need to select $n$ such that $\dbinom{n}{2} \geq 500$.

I do not understand how she got to this answer. I tried to start with the definition of a complete graph, but where to go from there, I had no idea.

Best Answer

The complete graph with $n$ vertices has $\dbinom{n}{2}$ edges. So, we have:

$$\dbinom{n}{2} \geq 500$$

$$\frac{n(n-1)}{2} \geq 500$$

$$n^2-n-1000 \geq 0$$

And there you go.