If the oxygen in the cellulose molecule found in a tree is the same oxygen that was found in the air, it can be used as evidence to support that the carbon in the cellulose is the same as the one in the atmosphere.
Carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere is fixed into plant tissues as carbohydrates during the process of photosynthesis.
Oxygen is released during the process but the oxygen comes from the splitting of water.
Thus, if the oxygen found in the cellulose of a plant corresponds to the oxygen found in the atmosphere, it is an indication that the carbon in the cellulose is also the same carbon in the atmosphere.
More on carbon fixation can be found here: https://brainly.com/question/1601963