If there is no ampicillin in the agar, E. coli will cover the plate with so many cells it is called a "lawn" of cells.

Only transformed cells can grow on agar with ampicillin. Since only some of the cells exposed to the amp^R plasmids will actually take them in, only some cells will be transformed. Thus you will see only individual colonies on the plate.

If none of the sensitive E. coli cells have been transformed, nothing will grow on the agar with ampicillin.

Continue to Label the Results of Your Experiment.