∞ generated and posted on 2016.02.26 ∞
Petri dish that contains some volume of solidified agar.
| A Plate is used for 'plating' and is used rather than 'dish' as shorthand for that configuration of solid media upon which one 'plates' or 'spreads' or 'streaks', that is, a pre-poured, solidified surface of solid media as found within a Petri dish. |
The agar making up plates is aseptically poured while in a molten state. This is done in advance, for future use.
Plates mostly are inoculated on their surfaces, though with some exceptions. In some cases empty Petri dishes instead of ones that have already been poured are used.
Note that 'plate' can also be used as a verb, as in, 'to plate'.
A citable video overviewing multiple palting methods can be found here: