a lock logo with an arrow encircling it has appeared besides the battery percentage symbol in my iphone 4s. What does that mean and how to get rid of it ?

Its the screen orientation lock, and is covered in the User Guide.

Double-tap the home button, swipe to the right on the dock area and tap the left-most icon.

Your Rotation Lock got turned on. This should help:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3805

thanks for the link that helped every one just kept saying to double click but i wasn't getting anything. I appreciate the help!🙂