What are the differences between agar plates and petri dishes, and how do these differences impact their use in laboratory experiments?

Agar plates and Petri dishes are both used in laboratory experiments for growing microorganisms. The main difference between them is that agar plates are the medium used to grow the microorganisms, while Petri dishes are the containers that hold the agar plates. This impacts their use in experiments because agar plates provide a solid surface for the microorganisms to grow on, while Petri dishes provide a sterile environment for the agar plates to be placed in. This allows for the controlled growth and observation of microorganisms in a laboratory setting.