Taste Halite tastes salty. The shape of the mineral when it crystallized out of solution is the crystal shape. Fracture and cleavage - Look at how the mineral breaks. Cleavage is the number of directions of smooth planar breakage. All parallel breakage planes form one direction of cleavage.
Fracture is when the mineral breaks in an irregular surface.
Specific gravity Cleavage or crystal Other Env. Geo.,, or Econ. These are some minerals to get started on. Always use safety goggles when using a rock hammer. The next page is a handout for the students, which repeats much of the above material.