Final answer:
The leading coefficient of the polynomial is -1, and the degree is 8.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks to identify the leading coefficient and the degree of the polynomial -v^8 + 20 + 15v + 5v^2.
The degree of a polynomial is the highest power of the variable that appears in the polynomial. For the given polynomial, the highest power of v is 8, which means the degree of the polynomial is 8.
The leading coefficient is the coefficient of the term with the highest power. In this case, the leading coefficient is -1, which is the coefficient of v^8.