The maximum amount that Connie can pay for a new CD is $15, so we will keep this on one side of our equation. Next, we equate this to the sum of the CD's price and the tax. Let x represent the price of the CD. The sales tax applied will be 0.05x. Therefore, we get the equation
15 = x + 0.05x.
Solving:
15 = 1.05x
x = $14.29
The first option is correct.