What can be seen in a mass spectrum?

The mass spectrum shows the intensity (y-axis) as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio (x-axis). the higher the peak of a certain m/z ratio, the higher the relative presence of the compound belonging to that peak in the sample. small molecules typically have a single charge, which means that their m/z ratio is the same as their mass. however, larger molecules often have a charge (z) greater than 1, which means that the m/z ratio is not the same as their mass.