Based on the quantum molecular dynamics picture, we aim to understand heavy-ion collisions in terms of participant spectator matter leading to various fragments of different sizes. The study is performed for symmetric as well as asymmetric reactions at E = 200 MeV nucleon −1 for central collisions. Our results highlight the importance of a phase space analysis of the fragment distribution in symmetric and asymmetric collisions in terms of light mass fragments that are a component of participant matter and intermediate mass fragments, which come from the spectator region.