To solve the equation 15x + 5 = 40, we need to isolate the variable x.

First, we subtract 5 from both sides of the equation:

15x + 5 - 5 = 40 - 5

This simplifies to:

15x = 35

Next, we divide both sides of the equation by 15 to solve for x:

15x/15 = 35/15

This simplifies to:

x = 35/15

The final answer is x = 7/3 or approximately 2.33.