Final answer:
Any line that is parallel to the line represented by the equation y = -2x - 5 will have the same slope of -2. Therefore, the general equation for a parallel line is y = -2x + b, where b is any real number representing the y-intercept of the line.
Step-by-step explanation:
The given equation y = -2x - 5 represents a line with a slope of -2. To find an equation representing a line parallel to the given line, we need to ensure that the new line has the same slope, because parallel lines have identical slopes. The general formula for a linear equation is y = mx + b, where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept. Therefore, any line that is parallel to the given line will have the form y = -2x + b, where b can be any real number. The exact value of b will determine the specific y-intercept of the line, but the slope must remain -2 to maintain parallelism.