CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

There was a question on the video assignment modules about this.
One answer had "photon" and the other one was "particle"
I thought they were interchangeable, but it seems like one is more appropriate than the other in some instances. Can someone explain?

I think it's because photons are a type of particle with the unique property that they are both a particle with wavelike properties

Photons also don't have a discernable mass while other particles do, so sometimes using photon over particle would be more specific.

Photons are considered particles of light and are unique in which they're both a particle and a wave. Therefore, between a photon and a particle, a photon would be more specific, as a particle is more vast, defined by it's small size and several physical/chemical properties.

Photons refer to a specific type of particle- the discrete packets of light energy. In certain behaviors of light (like the photoelectric effect) the photons of light behave like general particles, whereas some of its other behaviors (diffraction) are wavelike.

All quantum objects, ex: photons and electrons, exhibit wave-like and particle-like properties. However, what distinguishes a photon from a particle is that a photon has zero rest mass compared to a particle. Photons also carry no electromagnetic charge compared to an electron which is negatively charged.