Breaking the Elements

The loops should not be attached to the base plate, they are just sitting on the plate. What we don't know yet is what the orientation of the loop will be.

We at Pushing Frontiers were wondering about a couple of things concerning the loop that greatly affect how we intend to collect them.
First, will the elements be anchored? As in, will the bottom of the element be "locked" to the panel or standing freely on its own?
And second, if we break the element so all the yellow or blue pieces are still connected but the gray base stays on the ground, does it count as a broken element worth no points?

Thank you,
Pushing Frontiers