What kind of property describes how something looks, smells, sounds, or tastes?

A substance can often be characterized and identified by describing its physical and chemical properties.

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  Physical Properties: Physical properties are properties that we can observe or measure about a substance without changing the identity of the substance. Examples of physical properties include: color, smell, freezing point, boiling point, melting point, viscosity, density, mass, and volume. 

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  Chemical Properties: Chemical properties are properties whose observation or measurement causes a substance to turn into another substance. Examples of chemical properties include: reactivity with water, reactivity with acid, flammability, and corrosiveness.

For example, suppose that you have been given an unknown sample and asked to describe its properties. So, you place your unknown substance on a scale and measure its mass. When you are finished measuring the mass, you notice that your substance is unchanged. You can then conclude that mass is a physical property, because you were able to measure it without changing the substance.

On the other hand, suppose that you want to find out if your substance is flammable, so you set it on fire and discover that it burns easily. When you are finished burning the substance, you notice that your substance is now ash - it has changed into another substance. In order to observe the property of flammability, you had to change your substance to ash. Therefore, you can conclude that flammability is a chemical property.