How are reptiles different from dinosaurs?

Answer 1

Dinosaurs were a subset of reptiles but they were different from any modern reptile. Modern reptiles are cold-blooded animals with a fairly slow metabolism. They walk with their legs stuck out to the side except for snakes and some lizards which have no legs. They are covered in scales.

By contrast dinosaurs walked with their legs erect directly beneath them. There is evidence that many dinosaurs were warm blooded and had active lifestyles. Some are now known to have been covered in feathers rather than scales. A number of dinosaurs such as velociraptor were much more like birds than like modern reptiles.